Charaxes acuminatus
| Pointed pearl charaxes | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Charaxes |
| Species: | C. acuminatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Charaxes acuminatus Thurau, 1903[1] | |
Charaxes acuminatus, the pointed pearl charaxes or mountain pearl charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[2] The habitat consists of montane forests mostly at altitudes above 1,800 meters.
Both sexes are attracted to fermenting fruit and sometimes also sap oozing from wounds in the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs. Males are also attracted to damp patches. Adults are on wing from September to June.
The larvae feed on Allophylus species (including A. alnifolius, A. chirindensis, A. abyssinicus, A. chaunostachys and A. africanus) and Bersama abyssinica.
Taxonomy
Charaxes varanes group. Subgenus Stonehamia (Hadrodontes) The group members are:
- Charaxes varanes
- Charaxes fulvescens very similar to varanes
- Charaxes acuminatus very pointed forewing
- Charaxes balfouri
- Charaxes analava
- Charaxes nicati
- Charaxes bertrami perhaps subspecies of varanes
- Charaxes saperanus
- Charaxes defulvata
Subspecies
- C. a. acuminatus (Tanzania, northern Malawi)
- C. a. cottrelli van Someren, 1963 (north-western Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo: from the south-east to Shaba)
- C. a. kigezia van Someren, 1963 (western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, north-western Tanzania)
- C. a. kulalae van Someren, 1975 (northern Kenya)
- C. a. mlanji van Someren, 1963 (southern Malawi)
- C. a. nyika van Someren, 1963 (Malawi: Nyika Plateau, north-eastern Zambia)
- C. a. oreas Talbot, 1932 (Kenya: central highlands east of the Rift Valley)
- C. a. rondonis Kielland, 1987 (south-eastern Tanzania)
- C. a. shimbanus van Someren, 1963 (south-eastern coast of Kenya)
- C. a. stonehamiana Collins & Larsen, 1991 (western Kenya)
- C. a. teitensis van Someren, 1963 (south-eastern Kenya, Tanzania: north to Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru)
- C. a. thiryi Bouyer & Vingerhoedt, 2001 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- C. a. usambarensis van Someren, 1963 (north-eastern Tanzania)
- C. a. vumba van Someren, 1963 (eastern Zimbabwe)
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charaxes acuminatus. |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Charaxes acuminatus |
- ↑ Thurau, F 1903 Neue Rhopaloceren aus Ost Afrika. Ergebnisse der Nyassa-See-un Kenya-Gebirgs-Expedition der Hermann und Elise geb. Heckmann-Wentzel-Stiftung Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift 48 : 117-143 .
- ↑ Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini
- Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1963). Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part I. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology) 195-242.
External links
- Images of C. acuminatus acuminatus Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
- Images of C. acuminatus kigezia Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
- Images of C. acuminatus usambarensis Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
- Charaxes acuminatus images at Charaxes page Consortium for the Barcode of Life subspecies and forms
- African Butterfly Database Range map via search