Papilio hornimani Distant, 1879

Vane-Wright, Richard I. & Liseki, Steven, 2008, The type material, taxonomy and conservation of Horniman’s Swallowtail, Papilio hornimani (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), Journal of Natural History 42 (19 - 20), pp. 1333-1348 : 1341-1342

Papilio hornimani Distant, 1879

Papilio hornimani Distant, 1879:647 /8, pl. 47, figs 1,2,3. Lectotype male, Tanzania: Magila (Farler), BMNHE # 147806 , here designated [examined].

Papilio hornimani was described by W.L. Distant from at least one male and one female in the collection of F.J. Horniman. Frederick John Horniman, FRGS, FZS, FLS (1835–1906), was a collector specializing in natural history, archaeology, anthropology and musical instruments ( Horniman Museum 2007). A male specimen belonging to the original series of Papilio hornimani is now in the BMNH, and what is presumed to be a second original male remains at the Horniman Museum, London .

No other Farler specimens have been traced that can be linked directly to Horniman’s collection. This includes any females, which is regrettable as females of this species are rarely encountered in the field ( Williams 1969; Kielland 1990), and are relatively rare in collections (see above). In passing, it should be noted that on the plate accompanying Distant’s original paper, the numbering for the male and female undersides is reversed: the female is labelled ‘‘2’’, not ‘‘3’’ as given in the text.

Comparison of the two hornimani males with Distant’s figures leaves little doubt that the specimen originally illustrated is the one now in the BMNH. Moreover, because of its accessibility and labelling, this specimen has long been regarded as ‘‘the type’’. To stabilize application of the name, this syntype in the BMNH is hereby designated lectotype of Papilio hornimani Distant (Figure 2A). The labels it bears include // Farler / Magila // ex Horniman Coll. / 1904-282 // Hornimani / type Dist. // Papilio hornimani Distant , lectotype male, det. R.I. Vane-Wright, 2002 // BMNHE # 147806 //. It lacks antennae, all but one leg, and the entire left forewing, but is otherwise in quite good condition! Forewing length: 57.6 mm; forewing band width (in cell CuA 2): 5.5 mm; hindwing band width (measured at mid-discal cell): 8.1 mm.

The male in the Horniman Museum, London, is regarded as a paralectotype (Figure 2B). It is labelled // Farler / Magila // Papilio hornimani Distant , paralectotype male, det. R. I. Vane-Wright, 1990 //. Condition: wings good, with tails complete, both antennae and all legs missing, head, thorax and abdomen otherwise intact. Forewing length: 57.8 mm. Two males in BMNH ( BMNHE # 147804 and 147807), ex Rothschild collection and similarly labelled // Farler / Magila //, and a further male ( BMNHE # 147805 ), ex Godman and Salvin collection also labelled ‘‘Magila’’, all three of which were noted by Kielland (1987), are excluded from the type series. Possibly these were supplied through Farler at a later date .