Narrative

Papilio-homerus group text is based on the older Rothschild and Jordan revision of the New World Papilionidae. Changes based on the DAlmeida listing have been noted. Also included are some changes based on various articles. These changes are noted to comply with the taxonomy as published in 2004 by Gerardo Lamas in his checklist of Neotropical Lepidoptera. The Rothschild and Jordan text as modified by DAlmeida has been retained because for many years it was the only good source of information on this group. Many serious Neotropical Papilionidae collections in the world are based on the Rothschild and Jordan organization.

Papilio homerus group contains twelve species and some of the largest, most striking butterflies of the New World. The following species make up the Papilio homerus group (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

SPECIES - - - - - LOCATION
Papilio victorinus* - Mexico
Papilio cephalus - Colombia
Papilio cleotas* - Colombia and SE Brazil
Papilio aristeus* - Peru, Fr. Guiana to Bolivia
Papilio judacael - North Peru
Papilio garamus* - Mexico
Papilio abderus* - Mexico and Central America
Papilio homerus* - Jamaica
Papilio warscewiczi* - Ecuador to Bolivia
Papilio cacicus* - Colombia, Ecuador and E. Peru
Papilio euterpinus* - North Peru and West Colombia
Papilio diazi - Mexico (victorinus X garamus)

Papilio diazi is a rare butterfly of the Papilio homerus group that is occasionally encountered from Mexico. Some researchers believe that this species might be a hybrid between Papilio garamus and Papilio victorinus.

Gerardo Lamas in his 2004 checklist of Neotropical Lepidoptera made several significant changes to the above list. As follows, he:

-combined Papilio aristeus, Papilio cleotas, and Papilio victorinus into a single species, Papilio menatius
-made Papilio abderus a subspecies of Papilio garamus
-turned Papilio judicael into a natural hybrid
-turned Papilio cephalus into a natural hybrid
-changed the genus of this group to Pterourus

Taxonomy

References