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A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES The present paper is a preliminary attempt to determine the dominant patterns of distribution of African butterflies, to relate such patterns t o the ecological potential of the environment and to assess the impact of past climatic changes on the distribution of the recent fauna. This paper is concerned with the Ethiopian Region, which comprises continental Africa south of the Sahara, Madagascar and the adjacent islands and southern Arabia. Mediterranean Africa is inhabited by a Palaearctic fauna with very few Ethiopian penetrations and therefore does not come within its scope. The butterfly fauna of Madagascar is treated in toto and its relationship to that of continental Africa will be examined, but the author is unable to discuss in detail the geographic distribution of the species within that island since he has not had the good fortune to study them in situ. The butterfly fauna of Ethiopian Africa consists of 287 genera and of some 2674 known species. It is likely that 85% or more of the total species have been described, although the distribution of many of the rarer ones is imperfectly known ; there are probably a good many of the Lycaenidae awaiting discovery and description, particularly http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Journal of Ecology Wiley

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES

Carcasson, R. H.
African Journal of Ecology , Volume 2 (1) – Aug 1, 1964
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References (23)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 1964 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
0141-6707
eISSN
1365-2028
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2028.1964.tb00203.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The present paper is a preliminary attempt to determine the dominant patterns of distribution of African butterflies, to relate such patterns t o the ecological potential of the environment and to assess the impact of past climatic changes on the distribution of the recent fauna. This paper is concerned with the Ethiopian Region, which comprises continental Africa south of the Sahara, Madagascar and the adjacent islands and southern Arabia. Mediterranean Africa is inhabited by a Palaearctic fauna with very few Ethiopian penetrations and therefore does not come within its scope. The butterfly fauna of Madagascar is treated in toto and its relationship to that of continental Africa will be examined, but the author is unable to discuss in detail the geographic distribution of the species within that island since he has not had the good fortune to study them in situ. The butterfly fauna of Ethiopian Africa consists of 287 genera and of some 2674 known species. It is likely that 85% or more of the total species have been described, although the distribution of many of the rarer ones is imperfectly known ; there are probably a good many of the Lycaenidae awaiting discovery and description, particularly

Journal

African Journal of Ecology – Wiley

Published: Aug 1, 1964

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