ORNITHOPTERA POSEIDON. 



' Ornithoptera Poseidon, Doubleday, Annals and Mag. Nat. History, Vol. xix., p. 173 (1847). 



„ „ Doubleday and Hewitson, Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera, p. 43 (1846). 



„ „ Westwood, Cabinet of Oriental Entomology, t. 11 (1848). 



„ „ 2 Westwood, Cab. Or. Ent. t. 14 (1848). 



„ „ Wallace, Trans. Linn. Soc. Vol. xxv., p. 35 (1866). 



Papilio Priamus, Var., O. Poseidon, W. F. Kirby, Syn. Cat. Diur. Lepid. p. 518 (1871). 

 Ornithoptera Priamus, Var., Poseidon, Dr. C. Fickert, Ueber die Zeichn. der Gatt. Ornith., p. 709. 

 0. Poseidon, Butler, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1874 (Lep. of South Sea Islands), p. 288. 



„ Godman and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1878 (Butterflies of New Guinea), p. 647. 



Ornithoptera Pronomus, Gray, Cat. Lep. Ins. Brit. Mus., 1. c. p. 2, n. 3, t. i, f. I, 2 (1852). 

 $ Papilio Priamus $ , Lucas, Lepidoptera Exotica, t. 1 (1835). 

 Ornithoptera Pronomus, Wall., Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. 25, p. 32 (1866). 

 Pap. Priamus, Var. P. Pronomus, W. F. Kirby, Syn. Cat. Diur. Lepid., p. 517 (1871). 



Ornithoptera Pronomus, Godman and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1877, p. 470 (Butterflies of Duke of York Island). 

 0. Priamus, Var. Pronomus, Dr. C. Fickert, Ueber die Zeich. der Gatt. Orn., p. 706. 

 V 0. Pronomus, G. F. Matthews, Entomologist, p. 84, Vol. xix. 



f Ornithoptera Archideus, G. R. Gray, Cat. Lep. Ins. Brit. Mus., i., p. 3, n. 4 (1852). 



„ Priamus 2 , Boisduval, Voy. d'l Astrolabe, t. 4, f. 1, 2. 



„ „ 2 , ,, Spec. Gen. Lepid. i., p. 174. 



„ Archideus, Wall., Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. xxv., p. 32 (1866). 



P. Priamus, Var. Archideus, W. F. Kirby, Syn. Cat. Dlurn. Lepid., p. 518 (1871). 

 1 0. Priamus, Var. „ Dr. C. Fickert, Ueber die Zeichn. der Gatt. Ornith., p. 709. 



/ Ornithoptera Euphorion, Gray, Cat. Lep. Ins. Brit. Mus., i., p. 4, n. 6, t. a, f. 3 (1852). 



„ Priamus 2 , E. Doubleday, List of Lep. Ins. Brit. Mus. i., pt. 1. 



„ Euphorion, Wall. Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. xxv., p. 32. 



Papilio Priamus, Var. c. Euphorion, W, F. Kirby, Syn. Cat. Diurn, Lep., p. 517 

 ' Ornithoptera Priamus, Var. Euphorion, Dr. C. Fickert, Ueber die Zeichn. der Gatt. Ornith., p. 703. 



A careful comparative examination of the different 

 forms comprised under the specific names of Poseidon, 

 Pronomus, Archideus, and Euphorion can only bring us to 

 emphatically endorse the opinion of Mr. A. R. Wallace 

 that these are all variants of one species which may be 

 called Poseidon of Doubleday. Mr. Wallace included in 

 this group the Aru Island species, with all the numerous 

 specimens taken by him in New Guinea and the adjacent 

 islands. Though we may not be prepared to go as far 

 as that, we may, at least, admit that Amana, Pegasus, 

 and Eumceus are very closely allied to the others, while 

 they constitute a sub-group, having most of their charac- 

 ters in common, and that the important differences 

 between each of the latter are almost entirely confined to 

 their colours ; and though it often is the case that colour 

 variation has little or no specific value, we think it is a 

 noteworthy consideration in the Aruana group. 



It seems obvious that with Poseidon at the head, we 

 have in the four forms named above a group of variations 

 of one species, Archideus being the type, with any num- 

 ber of intermediate and slight differences linking all four 

 together— forming a transitive from the Australian Rich- 

 tnondia to the Aru Island sub-groups. Just in the same 

 way we see the Bornean Amphrysus varying under the 

 names of Ruficollis and Flavicollis, itself probably having 

 branched off from Pompeus or Heliacon ; similarly there is 

 the case of Dohertyi, Iris, and perhaps Plateni and some 

 others, all of which are closely related. 



I, therefore, shall feel justified in assuming that Poseidon 

 is a legitimate species, and that Pronomus, Archideus, and 

 Euphorion are varieties of that species, and as such they 

 will be regarded in this article, though I venture to give 



the original descriptions by which the authors made them 

 into distinct species. 



O. POSEIDON. 



" 6* . This species differs from 0. Pronomus by the rich 

 green colour narrowly extending along both sides of the 

 median nervure, and partly or entirely along the course of 

 the nervules of the primary wings towards the outer 

 margin ; and there is not any black spot in the buffy 

 yellow space at the anal angle beneath the secondary 

 wings. The markings beneath the primary wings, and 

 almost the entire surface beneath the secondary wings, 

 are of a yellowish green, with some golden yellow between 

 the row of black spots and the outer margin ; the latter 

 is bordered very narrowly with black." [At the time 

 when this description was written the 2 had not been 

 recorded from Darnley Island.] 



The type is in the British Museum. 



Habitat, Darnley Island. 



See E. Doubleday, Annals and Magazine of Natural 

 History, vol. xvi., p. 173. 



" <? . Above, anterior wings with the entire limb deep 

 velvety black, the disc occupied by a broad fascia of the 

 same colour united to the black margin below the apex, 

 divided by the median vein and branches, which are 

 golden green ; the inner side more fuscous and opaque ; 

 the space between this and the costal and inner margins 

 occupied by two stripes of bright golden — or satiny — 



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