''Troides rhadamantus'', the golden 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 Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

that inhabits the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The species was first described by

Hippolyte Lucas Pierre-Hippolyte Lucas (17 January 1814 – 5 July 1899) was a French entomologist. Lucas was an assistant- naturalist at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. From 1839 to 1842 he studied fauna as part of the scientific commission on the e ...

in 1835. There are many subspecies on islands of the Philippines and some authors consider '' Troides plateni'' and ''

Troides dohertyi ''Troides dohertyi'', the Talaud black birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly endemic to the Talaud and Sangihe islands. This species is ranked as a subspecies of '' Troides rhadamantus'' by some authors. Description Size range: 140 to 160 ...

'' as subspecies of ''T. rhadamantus''.

Related species

''Troides rhadamantus'' is a member of the ''Troides aeacus''

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 are: *''

Troides aeacus ''Troides aeacus'', the golden birdwing, is a large tropical butterfly belonging to the swallowtail family, Papilionidae. Description ''Troides aeacus'' has a wingspan of about but can be as large as 194 mm. In the males the forewings are ...

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

Troides magellanus ''Troides magellanus'', the Magellan birdwing, is a large and striking birdwing butterfly found in the Philippines and on Taiwan's Orchid Island. This butterfly is named for the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who was killed in the Philippines in 15 ...

'' (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862) *''

Troides minos ''Troides minos'', the southern birdwing, also called Sahyadri birdwing, is a large and striking swallowtail butterfly endemic to south India. With a wingspan of 140–190 mm, it is the second largest butterfly of India. It is listed as Leas ...

'' (Cramer, 779 *''Troides rhadamantus'' (H. Lucas, 1835) *''

'' (Rippon, 1893) *''

Troides prattorum ''Troides prattorum'', the Buru Opalescent Birdwing, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Buru in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It is commercially bred, but supplies of this butterfly are sporadic, so it is ...

'' (Joicey & Talbot, 1922)

References

External links

*Nagypal, Ton
"''Troides rhadamantus''"
''The World of Birdwing Butterflies''. Archived September 9, 2018. rhadamantus Butterflies of Asia Lepidoptera of the Philippines Butterflies described in 1835 {{Papilionidae-stub