''Libythea collenettei'', the Marquesan snout butterfly, is a species of

Nymphalid The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a redu ...

butterfly in the subfamily

Libytheinae The Libytheinae are a nymphalid subfamily known as snout butterflies, containing two valid genera and about ten species: six in ''Libythea'' and four in '' Libytheana''. The common name refers to the thick labial palps (pedipalps) that look like ...

. The species was first described by

Edward Bagnall Poulton Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton, FRS HFRSE FLS (27 January 1856 – 20 November 1943) was a British evolutionary biologist, a lifelong advocate of natural selection through a period in which many scientists such as Reginald Punnett doubted its i ...

and

Norman Denbigh Riley Norman Denbigh Riley CBE (26 September 1890 London – 26 May 1979) was a British entomologist with a special interest in the Lepidoptera and in particular the Lycaenidae. For many years he was keeper of entomology at the British Museum. His f ...

in 1923. The specific name honours its original collector, Cyril Leslie Collenette, a member of the 1925 St George Expedition to French Polynesia. It is endemic to

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

, ''L. collenettei'' is the only species of butterfly endemic to the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of ...

. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

has not been evaluated by the IUCN. However, a survey by

Akito Y. Kawahara Akito Y. Kawahara is an American and Japanese entomologist, scientist, and advocate of nature education, and the son of the modern conceptual artist On Kawara. Kawahara is a Professor and Curator at the University of Florida and lead researche ...

and Emmanuel Toussaint in 2018 designates it as endangered using the IUCN 3.1 criterion, but with an overall lack of sightings it is possibly extinct. It was previously listed as extinct, but was rediscovered in 2001 by Kawahara. It is threatened by deforestation because encroaching

Caribbean pine The Caribbean pine (''Pinus caribaea'') is a hard pine species native to Central America and the northern West Indies (in Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands). It belongs to subsection '' Australes'' in subgenus ''Pinus''. It inha ...

tree farms incentivize clearing the host plant ''

Celtis ''Celtis'' is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus is part of the extended hemp family ( Cannabaceae). ...

pacifica'' from the Toovii Plateau of

Nuku Hiva Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as ''Île Marchand'' and ''Madison Island''. Herma ...

. It is morphologically similar to ''

Libythea geoffroyi ''Libythea geoffroy'', the purple beak, is a butterfly found in parts of India and Myanmar that belongs to the subfamily Libytheinae of the family Nymphalidae. Description Race ''alompra'', Moore. Male upperside is pale brown. Forewing: the c ...

'', but its placement within the genus ''Libythea'' is questioned. Currently it is believed that ''L. collenettei'' is a sister taxon to the remainder of the genus ''

Libythea ''Libythea'' is a widespread genus of nymphalid butterflies commonly called beaks or snouts. They are strong fliers and may even be migratory. Classification * Source The higher classification of Nymphalidae, at Nymphalidae.net* Note: Names p ...

''.

Distribution

''L. collenettei'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the Marquesas Islands. It has been reported on the islands of

Fatu Hiva Fatu-Hiva (the "H" is not pronounced, see name section below) is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbor, it is also the mo ...

Ua Pou Ua Pou (french: Ua Pou, North Marquesan: ''’uapou'') is the third largest of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. History Pre-European history Ua Pou is the only major island tha ...

Hiva Oa With its , Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Located at 9 45' south latitude and 139 W longitude, it is the largest island of the southern Mar ...

Tahuata Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 4 km (2.5 mi.) to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordela ...

Ua Huka Ua Huka is one of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated in the northern group of the archipelago, approximately to the east of Nuku Hiva, at . Name Ua Huka is sometimes ...

, and

Mohotani Mohotani (sometimes spelt ''Moho Tani''; also called ''Molopu'' or ''Motane'') is an uninhabited island southeast of Hiva Oa and east of Tahuata in the southern Marquesas Islands. It has an area of 15 km2. Much of the island's sparse vege ...

. In 2001, it was believed to be relatively common on the island of Ua Pou. A February 2018 survey on the islands of Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, and Hiva Oa turned up no sightings. There has been an outreach program by researchers to the local people to report sightings of ''L. collenettei''; as of 2019, there have been no reports of sightings.

Life history

Larvae of this species feed on '' Celtis pacifica''. Adults have been collected flying around mountain streams. Its sightings suggest that it is

multivoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

, rather than univoltine. This contrasts with the remainder of the genus ''Libythea'' which is univoltine.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2235642 Libythea Taxa named by Norman Denbigh Riley Insects described in 1923