''Pseudopontia paradoxa'' is a species of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

found only in wet forests of tropical Africa. It was traditionally thought to be the only species (

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

) in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Pseudopontia'' and the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Pseudopontiinae ''Pseudopontia'' is a genus of butterflies found only in wet forests of tropical Africa. It is the only genus in the subfamily Pseudopontiinae. It was traditionally thought to contain only one species (monotypic), ''Pseudopontia paradoxa''. Howev ...

. 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 A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

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 ''Pseuderanthemum'' is a genus of plants in family Acanthaceae with a pantropical distribution. Species The following 130 species are accepted by Plants of the World Online * '' Pseuderanthemum alatum'' * '' Pseuderanthemum albiflorum'' * ...

'', '' Rhopalopilia marquesii'' and '' Rhopalopilia pallens''.Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pieridae – Subfamily Pseudopontiinae
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References

Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 10

Sources

*Plötz, C. (1870) Pseudopontia Calabarica n. gen. et n. sp. ''Stettiner Entomologischer Zeitung'', 31, 348–349, 1 pl. *Felder, R. (1869)

o title O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

''Petites Nouvelles Entomologiques'', 1, 30–31. *Felder, R. (1870) Gonophlebia (Globiceps), Paradoxa (Felder). ''Petites Nouvelles Entomologiques'', 1, 95. *Dixey, F.A. (1923) Pseudopontia paradoxa: its affinities, mimetic relations, and geographical races. ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society (London)'', lxi–lxvii +plate B. *Mitter, K.T., Larsen, T.B., et al. (2011). The butterfly subfamily Pseudopontiinae is not monobasic: marked genetic diversity and morphology reveal three new species of Pseudopontia (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). ''Systematic Entomology'' 36: 139–163. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00549.x

External links

Pseudopontiinae
TOL

funet

BOLD Pieridae Butterflies described in 1869 Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Rudolf Felder {{Pieridae-stub