Journal of Insect Conservation

, Volume 15, Issue 4, pp 603–608 | Cite as

Review of the conservation status of the Atlas Moth, Attacus wardi Rothschild, 1910 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from Australia

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Abstract

The conservation status of Attacus wardi, a large iconic moth endemic to north-western Australia, is reviewed based on new data. Available evidence on the spatial distribution, critical habitat and threatening processes suggests the species qualifies as threatened according to IUCN Red List Criteria, and that its conservation status nationally should be revised from Endangered to Vulnerable. The species depends on relatively large patches of wet and dry coastal tropical monsoon forest, and it has the potential to be an important flagship species for the conservation of these ecological communities. Further studies are needed to determine minimum patch size and spatial connectivity among patches to support viable populations of the moth.

Keywords

Australian monsoon tropics Kimberley Monsoon forest Moth conservation Status evaluation Threatened species Top End 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to T.R. New, R. Oberprieler and S. Ward for providing constructive comments on this note, T.A. Houston, B. Hanich and M.G. Rix for providing access to, and E.D. Edwards for confirming the identity of, the specimen of A. wardi in WAM, and J. Russell-Smith for information on the extent of monsoon forest in the NT. V. Kessner, A. Withers, P. Davidson, I. Morris, S. Webster and K. Blazely are also thanked for providing information and unpublished data on A. wardi. L.J. Aitchison and G.B. Monteith kindly assisted in drawing historical newspaper articles to our attention.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern TerritoryDarwinAustralia
  2. 2.Research School of BiologyThe Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
  3. 3.Plant Division, Biosecurity Services Group, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and ForestryCanberraAustralia

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