Revising primary data for conservation status assessments of Brazilian threatened butterflies

Abstract

Abstract Primary data, such as geographical records of species, are base-line for conservation status assessments. For many years, data on Brazil’s threatened butterflies (58 taxa) have been in need of improvement and the present paper provides a careful review of their geographical distribution data as well as an update of extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO). In total, ~ 6,700 records were compiled from several sources; 1,053 records are non duplicated geographical data. Of these 1,053 records, 566 (69%) come from surveyed literature (published records), 258 (31%) are unpublished records, and 229 (22%) were found to contain errors after data curation. Comparing “previous” to “current” estimates of both, EOO and AOO, changes in geographical range were reported for 48 taxa (83%). Based on current data (applying the thresholds of criterion B), there is a potential for changes in conservation status categories for 51 taxa (88%). Importantly, approximately half of unpublished records are from scientific collections and the remainder were provided by civil society (via personal communication), showing the importance of both data sources. The present updates of geographical records (and consequently, EOO and AOO) of Brazilian threatened butterflies may aid future conservation status assessments and also reinforce the importance of data curation.