''Pharmacophagus antenor'', the Madagascar giant swallowtail, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Papilionidae 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 larges ...

. As the common name implies, it is large (12– to 14-cm wingspan) and

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. It is the only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Pharmacophagus''. The larvae feed on ''

Aristolochia acuminata ''Aristolochia acuminata'', the native Dutchman's pipe or Indian birthwort is a poisonous perennial vine that is endemic to Asia and Malesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and northern Australia. Description ''Aristolochia acuminata'' is an ...

'' and '' Quisqualis grandidieri''. File:Madagascar giant swallowtail (Pharmacophagus antenor) in flight.jpg, Near

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...

File:Pharmacophagus antenor (drury) specimen at the National Zoological Museum of China.jpg, Specimen at the

National Zoological Museum of China The National Zoological Museum of China is located on the campus of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing in the Chaoyang District. It is the largest zoological museum in China.Isalo National Park Isalo National Park is a National Park in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar, in the southwestern corner of the Province of Fianarantsoa. The closest town is Ranohira, and the closest cities are Toliara and Ihosy. It is a sandstone landscape that ...

File:Madagascar giant swallowtail (Pharmacophagus antenor) chrysalis (empty).jpg, empty chrysalis,

Isalo National Park Isalo National Park is a National Park in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar, in the southwestern corner of the Province of Fianarantsoa. The closest town is Ranohira, and the closest cities are Toliara and Ihosy. It is a sandstone landscape that ...

File:Vlinder, Reniala 2.JPG, alt=, Feeding

External links

Fiebig

Larval stages
Papilionidae Butterflies described in 1775 Taxa named by Erich Haase Monotypic butterfly genera {{papilionidae-stub

Further reading

External links