Praepapilio
Encyclopedia
Praepapilio is an extinct genus
of swallowtail butterfly
from the middle Eocene
deposits of Colorado
, United States
. It belongs to the extremely few papilionid fossils ever discovered and is now considered to represent the fossil subfamily Praepapilioninae. Two species were described, each from a single fossil find.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of swallowtail butterfly
Swallowtail butterfly
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are over 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...
from the middle Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
deposits of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It belongs to the extremely few papilionid fossils ever discovered and is now considered to represent the fossil subfamily Praepapilioninae. Two species were described, each from a single fossil find.