Pseudopontia paradoxa

Pseudopontia paradoxa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Pseudopontia
Species: P. paradoxa
Binomial name
Pseudopontia paradoxa
(Felder, 1869)
Synonyms
  • Globiceps paradoxa Felder & Felder, 1869
  • Pseudopontia calabarica Plötz, 1870
  • Pseudopontia cepheus Ehrmann, 1894

Pseudopontia paradoxa is a species of butterfly found only in wet forests of tropical Africa. It was traditionally thought to be the only species (monotypic) in the genus Pseudopontia and the subfamily Pseudopontiinae. However, a recent study showed there are at least five species of Pseudopontia which can be distinguished genetically and by details of wing veins. Each is found primarily in a different part of Africa, though several of the species have overlapping geographic distributions.

It is considered paradoxical because, despite being a true butterfly (Papilionoidea), its antennae do not have the characteristic clubbed ends which are otherwise diagnostic of butterflies (Rhopalocera).

The larvae feed on Pseuderanthemum tunicatum, Rhopalopilia marquesii and Rhopalopilia pallens.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pieridae – Subfamily Pseudopontiinae

Sources


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