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''Ornithoptera allotei'' is the name given to a birdwing butterfly that is a natural hybrid between ''Ornithoptera victoriae'' and ''Ornithoptera priamus urvillianus''. Despite the fact that hybrids do not warrant a binomial name, the name Ornithoptera allotei persists from the original description of the butterfly as a species. The hybrid is known from Bougainville Island and Malaita Island, where the ranges of both parent species overlap. This butterfly is, because of its rarity, one of the most valuable in the world, with male specimens typically selling for more than £4,000.00 (US$7,000.00). It is said to be an ideal candidate for commercial exploitation because its parents are not rare on Bougainville Island, and they may be easily induced to mate with one another.〔(Nagypal, T. The World of Birdwing Butterflies )〕 ==History== ''O. allotei'' was described by Rothschild in 1914 as a species, despite the assertion by its discoverer, Abbé Allotte, a priest at the Buin Mission, Bougainville Island, that it was a natural hybrid. It was originally placed in the genus ''Troides''. The female was described by H.M Peebles and W. Schmassmann in 1917. Schmid (1970), McAlpine (1970) and Haugum & Low (1978) all held the hybrid theory but the final proof of ''O. allotei'' being a natural hybrid was made by Ramón Straatman (Jan Haugum in 'Papilio International' (1990)). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ornithoptera allotei」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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