''Papilio ambrax'', the

Ambrax Ambrax (; Ancient Greek: Άμβραξ) was a Greek mythological king of the city of Ambracia located in the region in Epirus in ancient Greece. He was king when the exiled Aeneas came to his city. He was son of Dexamenus that was in turn son of Her ...

butterfly, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larges ...

. It is found in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, as well as the

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a p ...

Papua Papua most commonly refers to: * New Guinea, the world's second-largest island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean * Western New Guinea, the western half of the island of New Guinea, which is administered by Indonesia. ** Papua (province), an Indonesi ...

(Indonesia), and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is . The larvae feed on ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is nati ...

'' species, ''

Clausena brevistyla ''Clausena brevistyla'' is a species of evergreen shrub to 6 m tall, in the citrus family Rutaceae. Found in New Guinea and Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Que ...

'', ''

Limonia acidissima ''Limonia acidissima'' is the only species within the monotypic genus ''Limonia''. Common names for the species in English include wood-apple and elephant-apple. It is sometimes also called monkey fruit. Description ''Limonia acidissima'' is a ...

'', '' Microcitrus garrawayae'', '' Microcitrus inodora'', '' Murraya koenigii'', ''

Zanthoxylum ailanthoides ''Zanthoxylum ailanthoides'', also called ailanthus-like prickly ash, (, lit. "Ailanthus-leaved pepper",; the name is obviously adaptation of latin ailanthoides "ailanthus-like" , lit. " Yue pepper",, p.503 食茱萸 ''shi zhu yu'',, 「澳名に ...

'', ''

Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum ''Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum'', known as thorny yellow-wood, satinwood, satin tree or scrub mulga, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It is a rainforest shrub or tree with thick, cone ...

'', ''

Zanthoxylum nitidum ''Zanthoxylum nitidum'', commonly known as shiny-leaf prickly-ash, tez-mui (in Assamese) or liang mian zhen (in China), is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. It is a woody climber with prickles on the branchlets, thick, cone-s ...

'', ''

Zanthoxylum ovalifolium ''Zanthoxylum ovalifolium'', commonly known as thorny yellowwood, oval-leaf yellow wood or little yellowwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. It is a shrub or tree usually with trifoliate leaves, white, male and female fl ...

'', and ''

Morinda citrifolia ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Its native range extends across Southeast Asia and Australasia, and was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout th ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Papilio ambrax ambrax'' (western Irian to Papua) *''Papilio ambrax dunali'' Montrouzier, 1856 (Woodlark Island) *''Papilio ambrax epirus'' Wallace, 1865 (Aru) *''Papilio ambrax epigius'' Miskin, 1876 (north-eastern coast of Queensland) *''Papilio ambrax artanus'' Rothschild, 1908 (Mefor, Geelvink Bay)

Taxonomy

''Papilio ambrax'' is a member of the ''polytes''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. The clade members are: *''

Papilio polytes ''Papilio polytes'', the common Mormon, is a common species of swallowtail butterfly widely distributed across Asia. This butterfly is known for the mimicry displayed by the numerous forms of its females which mimic inedible red-bodied swallo ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Papilio ambrax'' Boisduval, 1832 *''

Papilio phestus ''Papilio phestus'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus '' Papilio'' that is found on Solomon Islands, New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Regio ...

'' Guérin-Méneville, 1830

External links

Australian Faunal Directory
Images from

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

ambrax Ambrax (; Ancient Greek: Άμβραξ) was a Greek mythological king of the city of Ambracia located in the region in Epirus in ancient Greece. He was king when the exiled Aeneas came to his city. He was son of Dexamenus that was in turn son of Her ...

Butterflies described in 1832 {{Papilionidae-stub