Pseudopontia

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Cladus: Obtectomera
Superfamilia: Papilionoidea

Familia: Pieridae
Subfamilia: Pseudopontiinae
Genus: Pseudopontia
Species (5): P. australis – P. gola – P. mabira – P. paradoxa – P. zambezi
Name

Pseudopontia Plötz 1870

Type species: Pseudopontia calabarica Plötz, 1870
Synonyms

Globiceps C. & R. Felder, 1869 (preocc. Globiceps LePeletier & Serville, 1825)
Gonophlebia C. & R. Felder, 1870

References

Castro-Gerardino, D.J. & Llorente-Bousquets, J. 2017. Comparative exploration of antennae in Pseudopontia, and antennal clubs of the tribes Leptideini and Dismorphiini (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Zootaxa 4347(3): 401–445. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4347.3.1. Reference page.
Mitter, K.T. ; T.B. Larsen ; W. de Prins ; J. de Prins , S. Collins ; G. Vande Weghe ; S. Sáfián ; E.V. Zakharov , D.J. Hawthorne ; A.Y. Kawahara & J.C. Regier, 2011: The butterfly subfamily Pseudopontiinae is not monobasic: marked genetic diversity and morphology reveal three new species of Pseudopontia (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Systematic Entomology 36 (1): 139–163. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00549.x
Plötz, 1870: Stett. ent. Ztg 31:348, pl.2, fig. a-f

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. 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).
Species

Pseudopontia paradoxa R. Felder, 1869; found in rainforests in Cameroon,Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Gabon
Pseudopontia australis F.A. Dixey, 1923 (formerly considered a subspecies); found in Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), Congo (Brazzaville), and eastern Gabon, usually at low elevation
Pseudopontia gola S. Safian and K. Mitter, 2011; found in Sierra Leone and Liberia in far western Africa
Pseudopontia mabira K. Mitter and S. Collins, 2011; found in central Africa: in Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo within about 5 degrees latitude north and south of the Equator
Pseudopontia zambezi K. Mitter and W. De Prins, 2011; found in riverine forests in the southern African highlands: in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Angola, at elevations over 800 m above sea level

References

Plötz, C. (1870) Pseudopontia Calabarica n. gen. et n. sp. Stettiner Entomologischer Zeitung, 31, 348–349, 1 pl.
Felder, R. (1869) [no title]. 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