Charaxes acuminatus

Pointed pearl charaxes
	C. acuminatus male and female - Nguru Forest, Tanzania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Charaxes
Species:	C. acuminatus
Binomial name
	Charaxes acuminatus; Thurau, 1903

Last updated August 19, 2025

Charaxes acuminatus, the pointed pearl charaxes or mountain pearl charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.^[2]

Description

Characterized, as the specific name implies, by the acuminate forewings Forewing with the distal margin deeply excised and long, sharp, falcate apex. The orange or red-brown spots in the black marginal area small or indistinct. German East Africa.^[3]^[4]

Biology

The habitat consists of afromontane forests usually at altitudes above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft).

Notes on the biology of acuminatus are given by Larsen, T.B. (1991) and Kielland, J. (1990). ^[5]^[6]

The larvae feed on Allophylus species (including A. alnifolius , A. chirindensis , A. abyssinicus , A. chaunostachys and A. 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

C. a. acuminatus (Tanzania, northern Malawi)
C. a. cottrellivan Someren, 1963^[7] (north-western Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo: from the south-east to Shaba)
C. a. kigeziavan Someren, 1963 (western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, north-western Tanzania)
C. a. kulalaevan Someren, 1975 (northern Kenya)
C. a. mlanjivan Someren, 1963 (southern Malawi)
C. a. nyikavan Someren, 1963 (Malawi: Nyika Plateau, north-eastern Zambia)
C. a. oreasTalbot, 1932^[8] (Kenya: central highlands east of the Rift Valley)
C. a. rondonisKielland, 1987^[9] (south-eastern Tanzania)
C. a. shimbanusvan Someren, 1963 (south-eastern coast of Kenya)
C. a. stonehamianaCollins & Larsen, 1991^[10] (western Kenya)
C. a. teitensisvan Someren, 1963 (south-eastern Kenya, Tanzania: north to Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru)
C. a. thiryiBouyer & Vingerhoedt, 2001^[11] (Democratic Republic of Congo)
C. a. usambarensisvan Someren, 1963 (north-eastern Tanzania)
C. a. vumbavan Someren, 1963 (eastern Zimbabwe)

References

↑ Thurau, F 1903 Neue Rhopaloceren aus Ost Afrika. Ergebnisse der Nyassa-See-un Kenya-Gebirgs-Expedition der Hermann und Elise geb. Heckmann-Wentzel-Stiftung Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift 48: 117-143.
↑ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
↑ Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
↑ Kielland, J.1990 Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363.
↑ Kielland, J. 1990. Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363.
↑ Larsen, T.B. 1991 The Butterflies of Kenya and their Natural History. Oxford University Press, Oxford: i-xxii, 1-490.
↑ Van Someren, V.G.L. 1963. Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae). Part I. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). (Entomology) 13:195-242.
↑ Talbot, G. 1932 A note on the habits of some Charaxes observed on Mount Kenya, and the description of a new race of Charaxes. Bulletin of the Hill Museum , Witley 4: 181.
↑ Kielland, J. 1987 New taxa of Rhopalocera from Tanzania (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Lambillionea 87 (9-10): 114-126.
↑ Collins, S.C. and Larsen, T.B. 1991. Description of new genera, species, and subspecies discovered as part of the research for the book The butterflies of Kenya and their natural history. in Larsen-T, B The Butterflies of Kenya and their Natural History. Oxford University Press, Oxford: i-xxi, 1-490
↑ Bouyer, T., & Vingerhoedt, E. 2001. Description d’une nouvelle sous-espece de Charaxes acuminatus Thurau, 1903 (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae). Entomologia Africana 6 (1): 26-30.

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

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[1] Thurau, F 1903 Neue Rhopaloceren aus Ost Afrika. Ergebnisse der Nyassa-See-un Kenya-Gebirgs-Expedition der Hermann und Elise geb. Heckmann-Wentzel-Stiftung Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift 48: 117-143.

[ATBUT-2] "Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2012-05-22.

[3] Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[4] Kielland, J.1990 Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363.

[5] Kielland, J. 1990. Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363.

[6] Larsen, T.B. 1991 The Butterflies of Kenya and their Natural History. Oxford University Press, Oxford: i-xxii, 1-490.

[7] Van Someren, V.G.L. 1963. Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae). Part I. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). (Entomology) 13:195-242.

[8] Talbot, G. 1932 A note on the habits of some Charaxes observed on Mount Kenya, and the description of a new race of Charaxes. Bulletin of the Hill Museum , Witley 4: 181.

[9] Kielland, J. 1987 New taxa of Rhopalocera from Tanzania (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Lambillionea 87 (9-10): 114-126.

[10] Collins, S.C. and Larsen, T.B. 1991. Description of new genera, species, and subspecies discovered as part of the research for the book The butterflies of Kenya and their natural history. in Larsen-T, B The Butterflies of Kenya and their Natural History. Oxford University Press, Oxford: i-xxi, 1-490

[11] Bouyer, T., & Vingerhoedt, E. 2001. Description d’une nouvelle sous-espece de Charaxes acuminatus Thurau, 1903 (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae). Entomologia Africana 6 (1): 26-30.

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