CONSERVATION
IUCN Redlist category Least Concern (IUCN 2020)
Rationale for redlist categorization Losaria coon has been assessed as Least Concern. This species has a wide distribution in excess of 8 million km2, and although rare in parts of its distribution, has been regularly reported. However, some parts of its range and some subspecies are affected by threats, with local extirpation in Singapore, for example, and a Critically Endangered subspecies in the Nicobar Islands. Where threats are impacting the species, additional conservation actions are required and monitoring is recommended. (IUCN 2020)
Threat category Species disturbance,Ecosystem conversion|Ecosystem degradation|Indirect ecosystem effects (IUCN 2020)
Cause of stress Other ecosystem modifications (IUCN 2020)
Described Threats There is very little information on the threats to this species in the literature. Although found in trade, it is unknown whether this has a significant impact on the species. Across the range of this species however, there may be localised threats in particular localities, regions or affecting certain subspecies. The subspecies A. c. sambilanga , for example, is considered to be ecological sensitive, due to human population influxes and indiscriminate exploitation of biological resources causing habitat destruction and degradation (Gupta and Mondal 2005). The major threat of the population in China is considered to be habitat loss (Wang and Xie 2005). (IUCN 2020)
Commercial use Specimens of this species have been implemented in trade and can be found for sale online (information accessed in October 2018). (IUCN 2020)
Kind of conservation needed Site/area protection,Site/area management (IUCN 2020)
Applied conservation actions In a previous status assessment of the world's swallowtails in 1985, this species was not thought to be threatened (Collins and Morris 1985). However, A. c. sambilanga from the Nicobar Islands has been protected under Indian Law under Schedule-I (Part IV) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972), and is said to be very rare (Collins and Morris 1985); it was listed as Critically Endangered in the Red Data Book of Indian Butterflies (Gupta and Mondal 2005). The population in China is evaluated as Endangered by the China Species Red List (Wang and Xie 2005). Subspecies A. c. doubledayi is extinct in Singapore (Collins and Morris 1985).
Given its large range, the species is likely to be found in a number of protected areas. For example, wildlife sanctuaries in the Nicobar Islands cover an area of 19.18 km2. In Bangladesh, the species has been reported from Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary (Rahman et al. 2016); in Assam, India, from Barail Wildlife Sanctuary (Gogoi et al. 2016); in Meghalaya, India from Baghmara Reserve Forest (Kunte et al. 2012); in Thailand from Khao Yai National Park (Boy 2005), in West Java in Ujung Kulon National Park (Peggie 2012) and in East Java from Bawean Island Nature Reserve (Trimanto and Hapsari 2016). Given that land use changes may apply general pressures on the habitat of this forest-dwelling species in parts of its range, further on-site conservation actions, such as establishment of protected land, and research surrounding population monitoring could be advantageous in specific localities. (IUCN 2020)
REFERENCES
- Boy, P. 2005. Beobachtungen auff?lliger Tagfalter (Lep. Papilionidae) in Khao Yai Nationalpark / Thailand. Galathea, Berichte des Kreises Nurnberger Entomologen 21(4): 155-166.
- Collins, N.M. and Morris, M.G. 1985. Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland and Cambridge.
- Gogoi, M.J., Singha, H.J. and Deb, P. 2016. Butterfly (Lepidoptera) Diversity in Barail Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 4(4): 547-560.
- Gupta, I.J. and Mondal, D.K. 2005. Red Data Book (Part 2): Butterflies of India. Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.
- IUCN. 2020. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 10 December 2020).
- Kunte, K., Sondhi, S., Sangma, B. M., Lovalekar, R., Tokekar, K., and Agavekar, G. 2012. Butterflies of the Garo Hills of Meghalaya, northeastern India: their diversity and conservation. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(10): 2933-2992.
- Peggie, D. 2012. A list of butterflies from Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia. Treubia 39: 67-76.
- Rahman, S., Haidar, I. K. A., Neogi, A. K., Hasan, A. U., Rahman, M. and Imam, S. M. 2016. First record of six species and subspecies of butterflies (Insecta: Lepidoptera) in Bangladesh. Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 02(3): 373-380.
- Wang, S. and Xie, Y. (eds). 2005. China Species Red List, Vol. III Invertebrates. Higher Education Press, Beijing.