''Troides plato'', the silver birdwing, is a

birdwing Birdwings are butterflies in the swallowtail family, that belong to the genera ''Trogonoptera'', ''Troides'', and ''Ornithoptera''. Most recent authorities recognise 36 species, however, this is debated, and some authorities include additional ...

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 ...

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 ...

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...

. Described forms are ''nychonia'' Jordan, 1908 (male), ''chitonia'' Jordan, 1908 (male), and ''delormei'' Le Moult, 1931 (female).

Taxonomy

Previously considered to be a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''haliphron'', ''plato'' was raised to a full species by Haugum and Low on the basis of differences in the

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

Biogeographic realm

Australasian realm The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and ...

Related species

''Troides plato'' is a member of the ''Troides haliphron''

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 ...

. The members of this

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, ...

are: *''

Troides haliphron ''Troides haliphron'', the haliphron birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly confined to Sulawesi and the lesser Sunda Islands. Description ''Troides haliphron'' is sexually dimorphic. Male: The forewings are ground colour black. The veins are bord ...

'' (Boisduval, 1836) *''

Troides darsius ''Troides darsius'', the Sri Lankan birdwing, is a species of birdwing butterfly found in Sri Lanka. It is the largest butterfly on the island and is also the national butterfly of Sri Lanka. Among the largest and most gaudy of the Ceylon Lepid ...

'' (Gray,

853 __NOTOC__ Year 853 ( DCCCLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * May 22 – A Byzantine fleet (85 ships and 5,000 men) sacks and d ...

*''

Troides vandepolli ''Troides vandepolli'', the van de Poll's birdwing, is a montane birdwing butterfly occurring on Java and Sumatra. It is endemic for Indonesia and is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES CITES (sho ...

'' (Snellen, 1890) *''

Troides criton ''Troides criton'', the Criton birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly found on the islands of Morotai, Halmahera, Bali, Bacan, Ternate and Obi in Indonesia. Description ''Troides criton'' is sexually dimorphic. Male: The ground colour of the fore ...

'' (C. & R. Felder, 1860) *''

Troides riedeli ''Troides riedeli'', or Riedel's birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly endemic to the Tanimbar Islands, part of the Maluku Islands archipelago in Indonesia. Very little is known of the life history and distribution. Biogeographic realm Australasi ...

'' (Kirsch, 1885) *''Troides plato'' (Wallace, 1865) *''

Troides staudingeri ''Troides staudingeri'' is a birdwing butterfly in the genus ''Troides'' in the family Papilionidae. It is known from Leti Island, Moa Island, Kisar Island, Babar Island and Wetar Island. Subspecies *''T. s. staudingeri'' (Sermata, Luang, Baba ...

'' (Röber, 1888)

References

* *Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1978-1985. ''A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies''. 2 volumes. Scandinavian Press, Klampenborg; 663 pp. *Kurt Rumbucher and Oliver Schäffler, 2004 Part 19, Papilionidae X. Troides III. in Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach Eds. ''Butterflies of the World''. Keltern: Goecke & Evers

External links

''Troides plato'' at NagypalTimor and Wetar Deciduous Forests

plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

Butterflies of Indonesia Insects of Timor Butterflies described in 1865 Taxa named by Alfred Russel Wallace {{Papilionidae-stub