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] | |
The Pointed Pearl Charaxes or Mountain Pearl Charaxes (Charaxes acuminatus) is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of 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 Allophylus alnifolius, Allophylus chirindensis, Allophylus abyssinicus, Allophylus chaunostachys and Allophylus 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
- Charaxes acuminatus acuminatus (Tanzania, northern Malawi)
- Charaxes acuminatus cottrelli van Someren, 1963 (north-western Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo: from the south-east to Shaba)
- Charaxes acuminatus kigezia van Someren, 1963 (western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, north-western Tanzania)
- Charaxes acuminatus kulalae van Someren, 1975 (northern Kenya)
- Charaxes acuminatus mlanji van Someren, 1963 (southern Malawi)
- Charaxes acuminatus nyika van Someren, 1963 (Malawi: Nyika Plateau, north-eastern Zambia)
- Charaxes acuminatus oreas Talbot, 1932 (Kenya: central highlands east of the Rift Valley)
- Charaxes acuminatus rondonis Kielland, 1987 (south-eastern Tanzania)
- Charaxes acuminatus shimbanus van Someren, 1963 (south-eastern coast of Kenya)
- Charaxes acuminatus stonehamiana Collins & Larsen, 1991 (western Kenya)
- Charaxes acuminatus teitensis van Someren, 1963 (south-eastern Kenya, Tanzania: north to Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru)
- Charaxes acuminatus thiryi Bouyer & Vingerhoedt, 2001 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Charaxes acuminatus usambarensis van Someren, 1963 (north-eastern Tanzania)
- Charaxes acuminatus 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 Berl. ent. Z. 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