''Papilio pelaus'', the prickly ash swallowtail, 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), ...
of
Neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In biogeogra ...
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
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
,
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...
,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
.
Description
There are few differences between the sexes, the markings of the female are only a little wider and more numerous than those of the male. The body is black with some red dots. The forewings are black with a white median stripe on the obverse and underside. The hindwings are extended by a spatula-shaped tail and have white markings on the edge as well as a row of red and white lunulae, which are more numerous in the female. The forewing often has a row of small white dots on the underside.
Seitz- With spatulate tail. Sexes similar, but the markings in the female somewhat enlarged and on the hindwing more numerous than in the male. Black, forewing with oblique white band from the costa to the anal angle: hindwing with complete (female) or incomplete (male) row of pale red submarginal spots: beneath there are usually also small discal spots present, which sometimes in the female also occur above.
[Jordan, K., in Seitz, A. (1907). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 5: The Macrolepidoptera of the American faunistic region. Papilionidae 1-45]
Subspecies
*''Papilio pelaus pelaus'' (Jamaica)
*''Papilio pelaus imerius''
Godart, 1819 (Hispaniola) the band of the forewing is narrower anteriorly, on the other hand its last spot is on the whole broader than in the nominate and the spots on the hindwing are smaller.
*''Papilio pelaus atkinsi''
Bates, 1935 (Cuba)
*''Papilio pelaus puertoricoensis''
(Möhn, 1999) (Puerto Rico)
Taxonomy
''Papilio pelaus'' is a member of the ''
anchisiades'' species group
See also
*
List of butterflies of Jamaica
References
*Lewis, H. L., 1974 ''Butterflies of the World'' Page 25, figure 9
*F. Martin Brown and Bernard Heineman, ''Jamaica and its Butterflies'' (E. W. Classey, London 1972), plate VIII
External links
ButterflycornerImages from
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
The Natural History Museum Vienna () is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria.
The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matt ...
pelaus
Butterflies described in 1775
Fauna of Cuba
Insects of the Dominican Republic
Butterflies of Jamaica
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius
{{Papilionidae-stub