Ornithoptera rothschildi (Kenrick, 1911)

OCCURENCE

Habitat: Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland,Artificial/Terrestrial - Rural Gardens,Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Moist
This species is a montane species and is thought to replace the more widely distributed O. tithonus at high elevation (D'Abrera 1971, Collins and Morris 1985). The species has a preference for valleys and ravines which are exposed to sun and sheltered from winds (Haugum and Low 1979, Collins and Morris 1985). The vegetation is generally shrubby with emergent trees (Haugum and Low 1979). The food plant is Aristolochia (D'Abrera 1971). The species has also been found feeding in gardens (near Lake Anggi, Haugum and Low 1979). The main seasons for this species are February/March, June/July and October/November, indicating multiple broods per year (Haugum and Low 1979).
(IUCN 2020)

Population: Although of restricted distribution, during the 1985 swallowtail assessment (Collins and Morris 1985), the species was deemed not rare, and occurring in some abundance at certain sites (Haugum and Low 1979). However, D'Abrera (1971) classed the species as very rare and local.
Range: This species is endemic to the Arfak Mountains in Indonesia (Papua) (D'Abrera 1971, Haugum and Low 1979, Collins and Morris 1985, Matsuka 2001, Schaeffler 2001). It has been reported from Mt. Arfak, Mt. Koberai, several locations around Lake Anggi, at Warmassin and Manyam Bou (Haugum and Low 1979). It is considered to have the smallest range of any of the New Guinean birdwing species, and is restricted to high elevations, generally between 1,700 and 2,500 m Asl. (D'Abrera 1971, Collins and Morris 1985, Matsuka 2001). It has also been recorded, although rarely, as low as 1,100 m Asl. (Matsuka 2001). The estimated extent of occurrence, based on the range in the Arfak Mountains where the species has been reported is between 600 - 2,000 km?. From available point data, the estimated area of occupancy is very small (16 km?) due to only few point localities available for this species.
(IUCN 2020)

Occurrence and observation maps

Map of Life
GBIF
i-Naturalist

References

• Collins, N.M. and Morris, M.G. 1985. Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland and Cambridge.
• D'Abrera, B. 1971. Butterflies of the Australian Region. Lansdowne Press, Melbourne.
• Haugum, J. and Low, A.M. 1979. A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies. Scandinavian Science Press, Klampenborg.
• IUCN. 2020. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 10 December 2020).
• Matsuka, H. 2001. Natural History of Birdwing Butterflies. Matsuka Shuppan, Tokyo.
• Schaeffler, O. 2001. Papilionidae VI: Ornithoptera. In: Bauer, E. and Frankenbach, T. (eds), Butterflies of the World, Goecke & Evers, Keltern.