The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
ISSN 2307-8235 (online)
IUCN 2008: T160298A5360579
Bicyclus anynana, Squinting Bush-brown
Assessment by: Larsen, T.B.
View on www.iucnredlist.org
Citation: Larsen, T.B. 2011. Bicyclus anynana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011:
e.T160298A5360579. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T160298A5360579.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nymphalidae
Taxon Name: Bicyclus anynana (Butler, 1879)
Synonym(s):
• Mycalesis anynana
Common Name(s):
• English:
Squinting Bush-brown
Taxonomic Notes:
This butterfly is separated into the three subspecies, B. a. anynana, B. anynana centralis and B. anynana
socotrana.
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:
2011
Date Assessed:
January 1, 2008
Justification:
Bicyclus anynana has a huge extent of occurrence (EOO) in the eastern half of Africa, within which it is
widely distributed and often common, including the Comores and the island of Socotra. No threats are
recorded for this species and it is against all criteria a species of Least Concern.
Geographic Range
Range Description:
This butterfly is common in the eastern parts of Africa where it has been recorded in several subspecies
from Angola, the eastern and southern DRC, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia,
Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, the Comoro Islands, and Socotra
Island in Yemen. The extent of occurrence is well in excess of one million km2. Although not currently
known, the area of occupancy (AOO) is also likely to be similarly large.
Country Occurrence:
Native: Angola (Angola); Botswana; Comoros; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Ethiopia; Kenya;
Malawi; Mozambique; Somalia; South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Uganda; Yemen
(Socotra); Zambia; Zimbabwe
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Bicyclus anynana – published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T160298A5360579.en
1
Population
This species is common across its distribution in eastern Africa (Pringle et al. 1994).
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
This is a species of woodlands and savannah, though not of the driest types. This includes open forest
such as coastal forest (Kielland 1990). In Tanzania, it occurs at altitudes from sea-level to 2,000 m
(Kielland 1990). The habitat seems to depend on the location, with the butterfly being limited to riverine
vegetation in Botswana but elsewhere occurring in more open country. This butterfly is thought to
utilize several species from the Poaceae as larval host-plants (Larsen 1991).
Systems: Terrestrial
Use and Trade (see Appendix for additional information)
This most undistinguished of butterflies is important as one of the most widely used experimental
objects in large numbers of laboratory experiments around the world: the source for some 18 million lab
descendents was from Malawi (T.B. Larsen pers. comm. 2008).
Threats
There are no recorded threats to this widespread species.
Conservation Actions
No conservation measures are currently in place or required for this species.
Credits
Assessor(s):
Larsen, T.B.
Reviewer(s):
Lewis, O. & Böhm, M.
Contributor(s):
Senior, M.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Bicyclus anynana – published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T160298A5360579.en
2
Bibliography
IUCN. 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2011.2). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 10 November 2011).
Kielland, J. 1990. Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House.
Larsen, T.B. 1991. The butterflies of Kenya and their natural history. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Pringle, E.L.L., Henning, G.A. and Ball, J.B. 1994. Pennington's butterflies of Southern Africa. Struik
Winchester, Cape Town.
Citation
Larsen, T.B. 2011. Bicyclus anynana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T160298A5360579.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T160298A5360579.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Bicyclus anynana – published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T160298A5360579.en
3
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
1. Forest -> 1.5. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry
-
Marginal
-
1. Forest -> 1.6. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
-
Suitable
-
1. Forest -> 1.9. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane
-
Suitable
-
2. Savanna -> 2.1. Savanna - Dry
-
Marginal
-
2. Savanna -> 2.2. Savanna - Moist
-
Suitable
-
Use and Trade
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
End Use
Local
National
International
Research
No
No
Yes
Additional Data Fields
Distribution
Lower elevation limit (m): 0
Upper elevation limit (m): 2000
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Bicyclus anynana – published in 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T160298A5360579.en
4
The IUCN Red List Partnership
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™