The Southern Tailed Birdwing (Ornithoptera meridionalis) is the smallest species of the genus Ornithoptera. It is known from a handful of localities in southeast Papua, New Guinea (O. meridionalis meridionalis) and several localities along the south coast of Irian Jaya (O. meridionalis tarunggarensis).
O. meridionalis was first collected by Albert Stewart Meek near Samarai, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. The holotype is a female held in the British Museum (Natural History) collection. Meek was funded in his expeditions by the scientific author of this species, Lord Walter Rothschild.
Read more about Ornithoptera Meridionalis: Distribution and Habitat, Description, Description in Rhopalocera Exotica