The Unique Butterflies of Palawan
The geology of Palawan is, in many ways, unlike other parts of the Philippines. It is biogeographically part of the Sundaland with a fauna and flora that is closely related to that of Borneo. Palawan is one of the most biodiverse (terrestrial and marine) islands in the Philippines and hosts a huge number of endemic butterflies. Most of Palawan's endemic butterflies are found in and around Cleopatra's Needle which is home to one of the largest butterflies in the world, the Palawan Birdwing (Troides magellanus magellanus).
Jonah van Beijnen, Vice-President of Palawan-based private group, Centre for Sustainability while working on projects for sustainable development of Palawan and preservation of Cleopatra's Needle has captured images of these unique butterflies. He shared these photos with Philippine Lepidoptera (PhiLep) for documentation and appreciation.
The photos of Palawan butterflies are at the Butterflies in the Philippines website at http://philippinelepidopt.wixsite.com/butterflies and will also make an appearance at the Butterflies in the Philippines book by James Lawrence and Peter Hardy which will be published in England by Siri Scientific Press.
Gallery is a sneak peak at Palawan's unique butterflies; most of which has status of rare or uncommon in occurrence.
Jonah van Beijnen is an independent researcher with expertise in Botany, Ethnobotany and Marine Biology. He has several research papers published among them are The proposed Cleopatra's Needle Forest Reserve, Palawan, Philippines; The amphibians and reptiles of Luzon Island, Philippines, VIII: The herpetofauna of Cagayan and Isabela Provinces, northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range; and First record of the elusive Freshwater snapper Lutjanus fuscescens (Valenciennes, 1830) in Palawan, Philippines. Jonah is currently the Vice-President of Centre for Sustainability Palawan.
