''Papilio nobicea'', the Volta 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 ...

in the family

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 ...

. It is found in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. The habitat consists of forests in mountainous terrain.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the ''zenobia''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. In the ''zenobia'' group the basic upperside wing pattern is black with white or yellowish bands and spots. The underside is brown and basally there is a red area marked with black stripes and spots. In the discal area there is a yellowish band with black stripes and veins. Females resemble butterflies of the genus ''

Amauris ''Amauris'' is a genus of nymphalid butterflies in the Danainae subfamily. ''Amauris niavius niavius'', ''Amauris echeria jacksoni'', and ''Amauris dominicanus'' are mimicked by ''Papilio dardanus'' females. Other mimics of ''Amauris'' are fou ...

''. Both sexes lack tails. The

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

members are: *'' Papilio cyproeofila'' Butler, 1868 *'' Papilio fernandus'' Fruhstorfer, 1903 *''

Papilio filaprae ''Papilio filaprae'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. The species was first described by ...

'' Suffert, 1904 *''

Papilio gallienus ''Papilio gallienus'', the narrow-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the central part of the Republic of the Congo. Taxonomy ''Papilio gallie ...

'' Distant, 1879 *''

Papilio mechowi ''Papilio mechowi'' is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae found in Africa. Subspecies *''Papilio mechowi mechowi'' (Cameroon, Congo, Central African Republic, southern Sudan, Uganda, Republic of the Congo, Angola) *''Papilio mechowi whitnall ...

'' Dewitz, 1881 *''

Papilio mechowianus ''Papilio mechowianus'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Angola and the Republic of the Congo. Taxonomy It is a member of the ''zenobia'' species group. In the ''zenobia'' group the basic uppers ...

'' Dewitz, 1885 *''Papilio nobicea'' Suffert, 1904 *''

Papilio zenobia ''Papilio zenobia'', the Zenobia swallowtail or Volta swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the ...

'' Fabricius, 1775

Description

''Papilio nobicea'' is very similar to ''

'' but has pure white discal bands with no cream tinge. (Larsen, 2005). In th
Global Butterfly Information System
''nobicea'' Suffert, 1904 is treated as a junior synonym of ''Papilio'' (''Druryia'') ''zenobia'' Fabricius, 1775.

References

nobicea Butterflies described in 1904 {{Papilionidae-stub

Taxonomy

Description

See also

References