''Papilio filaprae'' is a

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 ...

of swallowtail butterfly from the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Papilio ''Papilio'' is a genus in the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, as well as the only representative of the tribe Papilionini. The word ''papilio'' is Latin for butterfly. It includes the common yellow swallowtail (''Papilio machaon''), ...

'' that is found in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, the Republic of the Congo,

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and Equatorial Guinea. The species was first described by

Ernst Suffert Ernst Suffert ( fl. 1900) was a German entomologist who specialised in studies of Lepidoptera. Ernst Suffert described many new species of African butterflies and moths, including '' Papilio chrapkowskii'', '' Papilio filaprae'', '' Mylothris ...

in 1904.

Subspecies

*''Papilio filaprae filaprae'' (south-eastern Cameroon, Congo, south-western Republic of the Congo, Angola) *''Papilio filaprae musolanus'' (Hancock, 1988)

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 ''

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 ...

'' butterflies. Both sexes lack tails. The clade members are: *'' Papilio cyproeofila'' Butler, 1868 *'' Papilio fernandus'' Fruhstorfer, 1903 *''Papilio filaprae'' 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'' Fabricius, 1775 Larsen, 2005 Larsen, Torben B 2005 Butterflies of West Africa. Apollo Books Stenstrup, Denmark doubts that this is a valid taxon, suggesting that it is the equatorial subspecies of '' Papilio cyproeofila'', which it closely resembles.

References

External links

swallowtails.net
Image

Images from

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

Global Butterfly Information System
Images (as subgenus ''Druryia'')
"''Papilio filaprae'' Suffert, 1904"
''Insecta.pro''. With image. filaprae Butterflies described in 1904 {{Papilionidae-stub