| Ornithoptera | |
|---|---|
| |
| Ornithoptera spp. (top left: male O. priamus caelestis; top right: male O. euphorion; bottom left: male O. goliath atlas; bottom right: female O. goliath atlas) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Tribe: | Troidini |
| Genus: | Ornithoptera Boisduval, 1832 |
| Type species | |
| Papilio priamus | |
Ornithoptera (from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (órnis), meaning "bird", and πτερόν (pterón), meaning "wing") is a genus of birdwing butterflies found in the northern portion of the Australasian realm, east of Weber's line; the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and northeastern Australia; except for Ornithoptera richmondia, which may be found in far northeastern New South Wales, Australia, therefore the southernmost distribution of birdwings. This genus includes the two largest butterfly species in the world, the Queen Alexandra's birdwing and the Goliath birdwing. Ornithoptera species are highly prized by insect collectors because they are rare, large, and considered exceptionally beautiful.23
Species
- subgenus: Aetheoptera
- Ornithoptera victoriae – Queen Victoria's birdwing
- subgenus: Ornithoptera
- Ornithoptera aesacus – Obi Island birdwing
- Ornithoptera croesus – Wallace's golden birdwing
- Ornithoptera euphorion – Cairns birdwing
- Ornithoptera priamus – common green birdwing
- Ornithoptera richmondia – Richmond birdwing
- subgenus: Schoenbergia
- Ornithoptera chimaera – chimaera birdwing
- Ornithoptera goliath – Goliath birdwing
- Ornithoptera meridionalis – southern tailed birdwing
- Ornithoptera paradisea – paradise birdwing
- Ornithoptera rothschildi – Rothschild's birdwing
- Ornithoptera tithonus – Tithonus birdwing
- subgenus: Straatmana
- Ornithoptera alexandrae – Queen Alexandra's birdwing
References
References
- Ornithoptera at Butterflies and Moths of the World, Natural History Museum
- Wallace, Alfred Russel (1869). The Malay Archipelago Vol. 1. Vol. v.1. London: Macmillan and Co. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
…Ornithoptera, the largest, the most perfect, and the most beautiful of butterflies.
- Wallace, Alfred Russel (1859). "Exhibitions". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London, 1858-1859: 70.
Is it, I think, the finest of the Ornithoptera, and consequently the finest butterfly in the world?