''Papilio godeffroyi'', the Godeffroy's swallowtail, ( Samoan ') is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, 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 includ ...

. ''Papilio godeffroyi'' was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to all of

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, but it is now found only on the island of

Tutuila Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisba ...

, where it is uncommon but widespread and restricted to undisturbed or near-undisturbed rainforest. It was last seen in Samoa in 1979. This is only around 5% of its original range, and the species has recently been submitted to the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

as critically endangered.

Description

godeffroyi Semp. (27 c). Male forewing rather pointed, with oblique band of white spots distally to the cell, the band beneath continued to the submedian by an interrupted or complete row of narrow transverse spots. Hindwing above with bluish grey discal band, which is pointed posteriorly and does not enter the cell; distally to the band indistinctly defined blue spots; fringe-spots of both wings large. Beneath the band of the forewing only indicated by a faint line, distally to this a complete row of blue lunules, the submarginal spots yellowish grey, not sharply defined, the anal spot yellow-red. The female paler, the forewing with a macular band, continued also above to the hindmargin; hindwing above with several red submarginal spots, beneath, the discal band very narrow, white, the submarginal spots all distinct, yellow-red. The young larva black, with white V on the back, and black spines. The full-grown larva variable, usually green and marked similarly to the larva of ''schmeltzi'', on the 3. to 5. segments 2 short orange-coloured spines at each side, on the 8. to 12. segments an orange-coloured tubercle at each side; on Aralia. Pupa golden green, the back of the abdomen uniformly convex; always fastened on the midrib of a leaf. The larvae of this species and ''schmeltzi'' feed by day. — Samoa. Seitz, A. Band 9: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die indo-australischen Tagfalter, 1927, 1197 Seiten 177 Tafel
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Biology

The larva feeds on '' Micromelum minutum'' (

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

), locally called ''talafalu''.

Taxonomy

''Papilio godeffroyi '' is a member of the '' godeffroyi''

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 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 ...

members are: *'' Papilio amynthor'' Boisduval, 1859 – Norfolk swallowtail *''Papilio godeffroyi'' Semper, 1866 – Godeffroy's swallowtail *'' Papilio schmeltzi'' Herrich-Schäffer, 1869

Etymology

The species, named to honour Johann Cesar VI. Godeffroy, is illustrated on a Samoan postage stamp issued on 14 December 2001.

Conservation

In July 2023 the Samoa Conservation Society announced plans to reintroduce the butterfly to Samoa.

References