Guam or Saipan is now quite familiar to Japanese as a tourist resort island. Before WWII, these islands belong to Mariana were Japanese colonies. An endemic Danaid butterfly has been recorded from these islands.
▲Map of Mariana Islands (after Wikipedia)
▲View of eastern coast of Guam
▲Mariana Brown Crow (Euploea eleutho), Rota island, Mariana Islands, collected in 1946
(preserved in University of Guam)
The species is Mariana Brown Crow (Euploea eleutho). Some researchers treat this species as a subspecies of Euploea algea. Small-sized and rather chic markings with white spots on blackish wings. No record has been obtained since 1946 in Guam and Rota. The last record was 1971 from Alamagan and Anatahan islands which are located in north of Saipan. We do hope this species is still flying in the jungles of some Mariana islands.
This species is mentioned with other extinct or threatened Danaid butterflies in Asia-Pacific area in the following paper.
Morishita, K., 2008. Euploea phaenareta juvia, an extinct Taiwan race, and some vulnerable danaid butterflies in Asia-Pacific area. Butterflies (Teinopalpus). 49: 82-85
Morishita, K., 2008. Euploea phaenareta juvia, an extinct Taiwan race, and some vulnerable danaid butterflies in Asia-Pacific area. Butterflies (Teinopalpus). 49: 82-85
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