Papilio rex
Papilio rex, the regal swallowtail or king papilio, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa.[2]
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Species: | P. rex |
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The Kenyan forms mimic Tirumala formosa, the forest monarch butterfly.
The larvae feed on Teclea tricocarpa, Teclea stuhlmanni, Calodendrum, Citrus, Clausena, Fagara and Toddalia species.
Description
The ground colour is black. There are numerous white markings and the base of the forewing is orange brown (sometimes black with a white streak in males).
Taxonomy
Papilio rex is a member of the dardanus species group. The members of the clade are:
- Papilio dardanus Brown, 1776
- Papilio constantinus Ward, 1871
- Papilio delalandei Godart, [1824]
- Papilio phorcas Cramer, [1775]
- Papilio rex Oberthür, 1886
Subspecies
- P. r. rex (Kenya (east of the Rift Valley), north-eastern Tanzania, central Tanzania)
- P. r. mimeticus Rothschild, 1897 (Congo Republic, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, north-western Tanzania, western Kenya)
- P. r. franciscae Carpenter, 1928 (southern Sudan, south-western Ethiopia)
- P. r. alinderi Bryk, 1928 (Kenya (highlands west of the Rift Valley))
- P. r. schultzei Aurivillius, 1904 (eastern Nigeria, highlands of Cameroon)
- P. r. abyssinicana Vane-Wright, 1995 (highlands of south-eastern Ethiopia)
- P. r. regulana Vane-Wright, 1995 (Kenya (highlands east of the Rift Valley))
Biogeographic realm
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Papilio rex. |
Wikispecies has information related to Papilio rex. |
- Papilio, Site of Markku Savela
- "Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- Carcasson, R.H. 1960 "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society pdf Key to East Africa members of the species group, diagnostic and other notes and figures. (Permission to host granted by The East Africa Natural History Society)
- Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
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