Papilionidae

Short-horned baronia Baronia brevicornis, copyright Fritz Geller-Grimm.

Belongs within: Obtectomera.
Contains: Teracolus, Papilioninae, Parnassiinae.

The Papilionidae, swallowtails, are a group of large butterflies characterised by the presence of an epiphysis on the fore tibia. The short-horned baronia Baronia brevicornis of Mexico is placed as its own subfamily as the sister taxon of all other living species (Silva-Brandão et al. 2005).

Characters (from Braby 2000): Adults large, boldly patterned, often with brilliant colours. Antennae relatively close together at base. Forewing with five-branched radial vein, R₄ and R₅ usually stalked, and two anal veins with 2A running freely to dorsum; hind wing with humeral vein present, single anal vein present, tornus often conspicuously tailed. Both sexes with six functional legs; fore tibia with epiphysis; tarsi with simple, well-developed apical claws. Egg almost spherical, usually smooth. Final instar larva stout, often bearing series of dorsal processes or spines that may be long and fleshy; thorax sometimes humped, always bearing eversible osmeterium; crochets of prolegs in biordinal or triordinal mesoseries. Pupa attached by cremaster, held upright by central girdle.

<==Papilionidae
    |--Baronia [Baroniinae] S-BF05
    |    `--B. brevicornis Salvin 1893 S-BF05
    `--+--Papilioninae S-BF05
       `--Parnassiinae S-BF05

Papilionidae incertae sedis:
  Bhutanitis GE05
  Praepapilio GE05
    |--P. colorado GE05
    `--P. gracilis GE05
  Iphiclides AN-A04
    |--I. ajax RD77
    `--I. podalirius AN-A04
         |--I. p. podalirius AN-A04
         `--I. p. feisthamelii AN-A04
  Sericinus telamon P01
  ‘Thais’ Fabricius 1807 non Röding 1798 P01, BR05
    |--T. polyxena P01
    `--T. rumina G20
  Zerynthia polyxena P93
  Teracolus B01a
  Glutophrissa contracta B01a
  Herpaenia eriphia B01a
  Eronia E01b
    |--E. dilatata B01a
    `--E. leda B01b
  Pinacopteryx B01b
    |--P. astarte B01b
    |--P. gerda B01b
    |--P. orbona [incl. P. larima] B01b
    |--P. pigea B01b
    `--P. rubrobasalis [incl. P. vidua] B01b
  Nychitona medusa B01b

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AN-A04] Askew, R. R., & J. L. Nieves-Aldrey. 2004. Further observations on Eupelminae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eupelmidae) in the Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands, including descriptions of new species. Graellsia 60 (1): 27–39.

[BR05] Bouchet, P., & J.-P. Rocroi. 2005. Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia 47 (1–2): 1–397.

Braby, M. F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution vol. 1. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood (Victoria).

[B01a] Butler, A. G. 1901a. An account of a collection of butterflies made by the Rev. K. St. Aubyn Rogers between Mombasa and the forests of Taveta. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 22–35.

[B01b] Butler, A. G. 1901b. An account of a collection of butterflies obtained by Lord Delamere, chiefly at Munisu, near Mount Kenya. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 197–203.

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[P01] Pável, J. 1901. Lepkék [Lepidopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 171–177. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[P93] Pittaway, A. R. 1993. The Hawkmoths of the Western Palaearctic. Harley Books: Colchester.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[S-BF05] Silva-Brandão, K. L., A. V. L. Freitas, A. V. Z. Brower & V. N. Solferini. 2005. Phylogenetic relationships of the New World Troidini swallowtails (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) based on COI, COII, and EF-1α genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36: 468–483.

Last updated: 1 March 2021.