Phalanta | |
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Phalanta phalantha in Bangalore, India | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Clade: | Euarthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Tribe: | Vagrantini |
Genus: | Phalanta Horsfield, [1829] |
Synonyms | |
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Phalanta is a genus of butterflies, called leopards, in the family Nymphalidae. The genus ranges from Africa to northern Australia.
The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world, belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea. These are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called brush-footed butterflies or four-footed butterflies, because they are known to stand on only four legs while the other two are curled up; in some species, these forelegs have a brush-like set of hairs, which gives this family its other common name. Many species are brightly coloured and include popular species such as the emperors, monarch butterfly, admirals, tortoiseshells, and fritillaries. However, the under wings are, in contrast, often dull and in some species look remarkably like dead leaves, or are much paler, producing a cryptic effect that helps the butterflies blend into their surroundings.
Africa is the world's second largest and second most-populous continent, being behind Asia in both categories. At about 30.3 million km2 including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Phalanta alcippe, the small leopard, is a butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed butterfly family found in Asia.
Phalanta eurytis, the forest leopard, forest leopard fritillary, or African leopard fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in tropical Africa, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
Phalanta phalantha, the common leopard or spotted rustic, is a sun-loving butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed butterfly family.
The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) is an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, DC. Barcoding was proposed in 2003 by Prof. Paul Hebert of the University of Guelph in Ontario as a way of distinguishing and identifying species with a short standardized gene sequence. Hebert proposed the 648 bases of the Folmer region of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome-C oxidase-1 as the standard barcode region. Dr. Hebert is the Director of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding, and the International Barcode of Life Project (iBOL), all headquartered at the University of Guelph. The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) is also located at the University of Guelph.
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The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in small parts of Western and Central Asia, on the Indian subcontinent to Southeast and East Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because leopard populations are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and are declining in large parts of the global range. In Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait, Syria, Libya, Tunisia and most likely in Morocco, leopard populations have already been extirpated. Contemporary records suggest that the leopard occurs in only 25% of its historical global range. Leopards are hunted illegally, and their body parts are smuggled in the wildlife trade for medicinal practices and decoration.
The term "Big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus Panthera, namely tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Except the snow leopard, these species are able to roar. A more liberal and expansive definition of the term includes species outside of Panthera including the cougar, clouded leopard, Sunda clouded leopard and cheetah, although these added species also do not roar.
Dinofelis is a genus of extinct sabre-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini. They were widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America at least 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago. Fossils very similar to Dinofelis from Lothagam range back to the Late Miocene, some 8 million years ago.
The leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. It is the only member of the genus Stigmochelys, although in the past it was commonly placed in Geochelone. This tortoise is a grazing species that favors semi-arid, thorny to grassland habitats. In both very hot and very cold weather they may dwell in abandoned fox, jackal, or aardvark holes. Leopard tortoises do not dig other than to make nests in which to lay eggs. Given its propensity for grassland habitats, it grazes extensively upon mixed grasses. It also favors succulents and thistles.
The Nymphalinae are a subfamily of brush-footed butterflies. Sometimes, the subfamilies Limenitidinae, and Biblidinae are included here as subordinate tribe(s), while the tribe Melitaeini is occasionally regarded as a distinct subfamily.
The African leopard is the leopard nominate subspecies native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have been recorded in North Africa as well.
The giant forest hog, the only member of its genus, is native to wooded habitats in Africa and generally is considered the largest wild member of the pig family, Suidae; a few subspecies of the wild boar can reach an even larger size. Despite its large size and relatively wide distribution, it was first described only in 1904. The specific name honours Richard Meinertzhagen, who shot the type specimen in Kenya and had it shipped to the Natural History Museum in England.
South Africa has a large variety of wildlife, which includes snakes, birds, plains animals, and predators. The country has 299 species of mammals, and 858 species of birds.
Boloria is a brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) genus. Clossiana is usually included with it nowadays, though some authors still consider it distinct and it seems to warrant recognition as a subgenus at least.
Anetia is a Neotropical genus of nymphalid butterflies in the Danainae subfamily.
False fritillary refers to certain brush-footed butterflies which look alike but are not closely related to the fritillaries of the Heliconiinae:
Vagrantini is a tribe of butterflies in the subfamily Heliconiinae found from east Africa over the Indian subcontinent to eastern Asia and Australia.
Phalanta eurytis, the tropical pentila or spotted buff, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in eastern Africa.
Issoria is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae commonly found in the Palaearctic ecozone, Africa and South America.
Issoria hanningtoni, the Hannington's fritillary, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. The habitat consists of highland forests.
Pseudargynnis is a monotypic butterfly genus. The single species Pseudargynnis hegemone, the false fritillary, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, western Kenya, western Tanzania, Malawi, northern Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The habitat consists of open grassy and marshy habitats in tropical savanna and open forests.