Cotrell's Daisy Copper
Chrysoritis cotrelli
Chrysoritis cotrelli is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to Eastern Cape and Western Cape of South Africa.
Photo: iNaturalist: (c) Felix Riegel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Felix Riegel
Taxonomy & Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Lycaenidae
Genus
Chrysoritis
Cotrell's Daisy Copper belongs to the family Lycaenidae, order Lepidoptera, within the Insecta class.
Species Profile
Chrysoritis cotrelli is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to Eastern Cape and Western Cape of South Africa. It is mostly considered a subspecies of Chrysoritis zeuxo.
Cotrell's Daisy Copper is critically endangered due to its extremely restricted range in the Western Cape of South Africa, where it faces severe habitat loss from agricultural expansion and urban development. The species is also threatened by invasive alien plant species that alter the natural fynbos vegetation structure and reduce the availability of its specific host plants.
Key Facts
Threats
IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
Cotrell's Daisy Copper is critically endangered due to its extremely restricted range in the Western Cape of South Africa, where it faces severe habitat loss from agricultural expansion and urban development. The species is also threatened by invasive alien plant species that alter the natural fynbos vegetation structure and reduce the availability of its specific host plants.
Extremely small population size and restricted range
Habitat loss from agriculture and urban development
Invasive alien plant species
Loss of specific host plant species
Climate change and altered fire regimes
Community Sightings
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Sources & Attribution
How to Cite
IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS
GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org
This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Cotrell's Daisy Copper (Chrysoritis cotrelli). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/cotrells-daisy-copper