IUCN Bangladesh team has made
a remarkable collection of a butterfly identified as Euploea
crameri Nicevillei Moore 1890, a very rare sub-species of
Euploea crameri Lucas, 1853 from Kochikhali Wildlife Sanctuary,
N 210 52.054' E 890 50.58 and Jamtala, N 210 51.209 E 890
47.062 dated 5th September 2002. The specimen had been last
collected from the Indian Sundarban. Personal communication
with Dr. Torben B. Larson, renowned butterfly expert, revealed
that no specimen of this particular species could have been
collected since 1890.
|
The Sundarban Crow
Photo by M. Sazedul Islam
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| The specimen is the first to
be captured in Bangladesh. The subspecies has specialized
in mangrove habitats. The nearest populations of very different
subspecies are found in southern Myanmar and Thailand, as
well as on the Nicobar Islands. The subspecies is thus geographically
very isolated and endemic to the Sundarbans, illustrating
the importance of the conservation of this threatened ecological
zone, Dr. Larson commented. The research team included Prof.
Shafique H. Chowdhury, Hasan Zahid Chowdhury and Tunzim Hasnain. |
NEWS