Ecological and biogeographical characteristics of butterflies (Lepidoptera,Rhopalocera) of Vietnam

The lowland butterfly fauna in Vietnam is more diversified whereas the mountain fauna is more specific and contains more endemic taxa. The lowland areas have significantly higher levels of species richness (51–86%) as compared to the mountainous areas (25–66%). The aspect of the fauna shows a well-developed seasonality, with higher species diversity during the dry period and in the transitional period between the dry and rainy seasons. The butterfly fauna of Vietnam should be regarded not as a transitional one between the faunas of the Holarctic and Indo-Malayan Regions, but as one of the principal faunas of the Indo-Malayan Region, constituting the core of the Indo-Burmese fauna and including representatives of the neighboring faunistic centers.