The Libythea geoffroyi, commonly known as the beak butterfly, is endemic to the Vanuatu archipelago and was selected for this issue as part of the Reserve Bank's broader natural history series highlighting indigenous fauna increasingly threatened by habitat loss across the island chain. Vanuatu's entomological diversity remains poorly documented by Western science — several species on these coins were described formally only in the twentieth century.
The Libythea geoffroyi, commonly known as the beak butterfly, is endemic to the Vanuatu archipelago and was selected for this issue as part of the Reserve Bank's broader natural history series highlighting indigenous fauna increasingly threatened by habitat loss across the island chain. Vanuatu's entomological diversity remains poorly documented by Western science — several species on these coins were described formally only in the twentieth century.