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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
Walker, J. J. 1902. Antipodean field notes. I. New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, and
adjacent islands. Entomol. Mon. Mag. 38:189-203. Walker, J. J. 1919. The fringes of butterfly life. Trans. Entomol. Soc. London 1919:
xci-cxvii. Williams, C. B. 1930. The migration of butterflies. Oliver & Boyd, London. 473 pp. Williams, C. B. 1945. Occurrence of Vanessa cardui at sea off the west African coast.
Proc. R. Entomol. Soc. London (A) 20:4-5. Williams, C. B. 1965. Insect migration. Collins, London. 237 pp. Zimmerman, E. C. 1958. Insects of Hawaii. Vol. 7, Macrolepidoptera. Univ. Hawaii
Press. 542 pp.
Oakley Shields, 6506 Jerseydale Road, Mariposa, California 95338. Received for publication 6 January 1990; revised and accepted 13 June 1992.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 46(3), 1992, 238-239
NOTES ON THE TYPE OF PAPILIO CRESPHONTES AB. "MAXWELLI" (PAPILIONIDAE)
Additional key words: aberration, holotype, Florida.
Papilio cresphontes (Cramer) is a widespread Neotropical species with few associated infrasubspecific names, despite the preponderance of these names employed elsewhere within the Papilionidae. Papilio cresphontes ab. "maxwelli" Franck is a rare aberration characterized by elongated yellow spots near the apex of the forewing, described by Franck (1919a) as "giving the specimen a striking tropical appearance." In his description of the taxon, Franck (1919a) figured the holotype of "maxwelli" but omitted data regarding the type locality, sex of the specimen, and the collection in which it was deposited. As a result, this information was unknown to subsequent authors, including Miller and Brown (1981) and Ferris (1989). Kimball (1965), likewise, did not mention P. cresphontes ab. "maxwelli", apparently because he was unaware of the Florida type locality. However, Franck (1919b) amended his description with a short note that has been overlooked by researchers for over seventy years.
In a one-sentance emendation, Franck (1919b) designated the type locality as St. Petersburg, Florida, and noted that the description was based upon a single male specimen in the William Barnes collection. The holotype is now located in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History where the Barnes collection is largely deposited. The specimen possesses two labels: a red holotype label affixed in 1990 and an old white label bearing nearly undecipherable handwriting, possibly reading "Mar 29." No additional information is discernable. Clark (1936) figured another male specimen of the "maxwelli" phenotype without providing locality data.
Although infrasubspecific taxa are not subject to rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, any taxon within such a highly popularized and thoroughly studied family is of special interest.
I thank Robert K. Robbins for his assistance in locating the type specimen.
Literature Cited
Clark, A. H. 1936. The swallowtail butterflies. Ann. Rpt. of the Smiths. Inst, for the
Year Ending 1935:383-408. Ferris, C. D. (ed.). 1989. Supplement to: A catalogue/checklist of the butterflies of
North America, north of Mexico. Lepid. Soc. Mem. No. 3. 103 pp.
Volume 46, Number 3
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Franck, G. 1919a. Papilio cresphontes, var. maxwelli, nov. Bull. Brooklyn Entomol.
Soc. 14:3. Franck, G. 1919b. Papilio cresphontes, var. maxwelli Franck. Bull. Brooklyn Entomol.
Soc. 14:101. Kimball, C. P. 1965. Lepidoptera of Florida. Div. of Plant Industry, Gainesville. 363
pp. Miller, L. D. & F. M. Brown. 1981. Catalogue/checklist of the butterflies of North
America, north of Mexico. Lepid. Soc. Memoir No. 2. 280 pp.
John V. Calhoun, 1731 San Mateo Drive, Dunedin, Florida 34698.
Received for publication 22 February 1992; revised and accepted 23 May 1992.
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