The endemic butterflies of Angola and Namibia and their evolutionary implications

Authors

  • AJ Gardiner Southern African Wildlife College; University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
  • MC Williams† [Deceased]

Keywords:

Angola, biogeography, butterfly, endemism, escarpments, evolution, highlands, Lepidoptera, Namibia

Abstract

The currently described endemic butterfly species and subspecies to Angola and Namibia are presented together with their known distributions. This butterfly fauna has been placed into the biogeographic units of Carcasson (1964) and Burgess et al. (2004). Aspects of the evolution and biogeography of the fauna, such as their association with other mountainous areas of Africa and their linkage to dry areas of East Africa, are discussed. The information suggests large gaps in our knowledge of the Angolan highland fauna. The importance of utilising such fauna for identifying conservation priorities in these two countries is highlighted.

Monograph on endemism in the highlands and escarpments of Angola and Namibia

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Published

2023-12-16

Issue

Vol. 8 (2023): Mendelsohn JM, Huntley BJ, Vaz Pinto P (eds). Monograph on endemism in the highlands and escarpments of Angola and Namibia. Namibian Journal of Environment

Section

Diversity and endemism

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Articles in this journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. The copyright of all articles and field notes belongs to the authors. All other copyright is held by the journal.