''Papilio chitondensis'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

swallowtail butterfly 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 larg ...

from the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Papilio ''Papilio'' is a genus in the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, as well as the only representative of the tribe Papilionini. The word ''papilio'' is Latin for butterfly. It includes the common yellow swallowtail ('' Papilio machaon'') ...

'' that is found in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Taxonomy

''Papilio chitondensis'' belongs to a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

called the ''nireus''

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 ...

with 15 members. The pattern is black with green bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails, lack tails with the exception of ''Papilio charopus'' and ''Papilio hornimani''. The clade members are: *''

Papilio aristophontes ''Papilio aristophontes'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Comoros. It is listed as a red list species due to its rarity and the threats to its survival. The eggs are laid on the plant '' Toddalia asiatica' ...

'' Oberthür, 1897 *''

Papilio nireus ''Papilio nireus'', the green-banded swallowtail, narrow-banded blue swallowtail, or African blue-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Description The wingspan is in males and in f ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''

Papilio charopus ''Papilio charopus'', the tailed green-banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. Subspecies *' ...

'' Westwood, 1843 *''Papilio chitondensis'' de Sousa & Fernandes, 1966 *'' Papilio chrapkowskii'' Suffert, 1904 *''

Papilio chrapkowskoides ''Papilio chrapkowskoides'', the broadly green-banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivo ...

'' Storace, 1952 *'' Papilio desmondi'' van Someren, 1939 *'' Papilio hornimani'' Distant, 1879 *''

Papilio interjectana ''Papilio interjectana'', the Van Someren's green-banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Uganda and Kenya.Papilio manlius ''Papilio manlius'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Mauritius. Description The discal band of the forewing in both sexes only composed of three spots (in cellules 3, 4 and in the cell); that of the hindwin ...

'' Fabricius, 1798 *'' Papilio microps'' Storace, 1951 *'' Papilio sosia'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 *''

Papilio thuraui ''Papilio thuraui'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bor ...

'' Karsch, 1900 *''

Papilio ufipa ''Papilio ufipa'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Tanzania. The habitat consists of riparian and montane forests at altitudes from . Taxonomy ''Papilio ufipa'' belongs to a clade called the ''ni ...

'' Carcasson, 1961 *''

Papilio wilsoni ''Papilio wilsoni'' is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Ethiopia. Taxonomy ''Papilio wilsoni'' belongs to a clade called the ''nireus'' species-group with 15 members. The pattern is black with green bands and spots and ...

'' Rothschild, 1926

References

Endemic fauna of Angola chitondensis Butterflies described in 1966 Butterflies of Africa {{Papilionidae-stub