''Potanthus'' is a large

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of skipper butterflies. They are commonly known as darts. They are found from

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, and down to

maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as ...

(though not extending towards

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

). It includes about 35 species, all of which look very similar to each other and are often only reliably identifiable through the examination of the male genitalia. ''Potanthus'' species are sun-loving diurnal flyers. They are usually found in primary and secondary forests, as well as in partly cleared areas,

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s, and near small villages. Occasionally they may be found in

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s and mangrove forests. The larvae feed on '' Bambusa'' (bamboo) and '' Dendrocalamus'' (both Gramineae). It includes the following species: :*'' Potanthus amor'' Evans, 1932 -

Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...

, Sumba, and Oinanaisa :*'' Potanthus chloe'' Eliot, 1960 - endemic to Malaysia :*'' Potanthus confucius'' (Chinese dart or Confucian dart) :*'' Potanthus dara'' (Kollar, 1845) - Himalayas, Indo-China, Malaysia :*'' Potanthus diffusus'' Hsu, Tsukiyama & Chiba, 2005 - endemic to Taiwan :*'' Potanthus fettingi'' (Möschler, 1878) - Sundaland, Sulawesi, and the Philippines :*'' Potanthus flavus'' (Murray, 1875) -

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, China, the Philippines, and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

:*'' Potanthus juno'' (Evans, 1932) - Assam to the Malay Peninsula, Zhejiang :*'' Potanthus ganda'' (Fruhstorfer, 1911) - Assam, Indochina, southern China, Sundaland, and Calamian,

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

:*'' Potanthus hetaerus'' (Mabille, 1883) - the Philippines, and Sulawesi :*'' Potanthus ilion'' (de Nicéville, 1897) - endemic to Lombok :*'' Potanthus lydia'' (Evans, 1934) - western China to the Malay Peninsula :*'' Potanthus mara'' (Evans, 1932) (Sikkim dart) - endemic to Tibet :*'' Potanthus motzui'' Hsu, Li & Li, 1990 - endemic to Taiwan :*'' Potanthus mingo'' (Edwards, 1866) - the Philippines, Java, Assam, Burma, Indochina, and Yunnan :*'' Potanthus miyashitai'' Fujioka & Tsukiyama, 1975 :*'' Potanthus nesta'' (Evans, 1934) -

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

and Sichuan, China :*'' Potanthus niobe'' (Evans, 1934) - endemic to the Philippines :*'' Potanthus omaha'' (Edwards, 1863) - Burma to Indochina, Tawi-Tawi and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

and Sumbawa :*'' Potanthus pallida'' (Evans, 1932) (pallid dart) - Sri Lanka, India, southern China, and southern Thailand :*'' Potanthus palnia'' (Evans, 1914) (Palni dart) - the Palni Hills of southern India, Burma to Sumatra, southeastern Tibet and China :*'' Potanthus pamela'' (Evans, 1934) :*'' Potanthus parvus'' Johnson & Johnson, 1980 :*'' Potanthus pava'' (Fruhstorfer, 1911) (Pava dart) - Taiwan, India, Indochina, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, and Sulawesi :*'' Potanthus pseudomaesa'' (Moore, 1882)(Indian dart) - lower Himalayas, India, Sri Lanka, Yunnan :*'' Potanthus rectifasciata'' (Elwes & Edwards, 1897) (branded dart) -

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

to the Malay Peninsula,

:*'' Potanthus riefenstahli'' Huang, 2003 - Yunnan :*'' Potanthus serina'' Plötz, 1883) (large dart) - Burma to Indochina, the Philippines :*'' Potanthus sita'' (Evans, 1932) :*'' Potanthus taqini'' Huang, 2001 - endemic to Tibet :*'' Potanthus tibetana'' Huang, 2002 - Tibet and Yunnan :*'' Potanthus trachala'' (Mabille, 1878) - India, Indochina, Malaysia, and southern China :*'' Potanthus upadhana'' (Fruhstorfer, 1911) -

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, Lombok :*'' Potanthus wilemanni'' (Evans, 1934) - Taiwan :*'' Potanthus yani'' Huang, 2002 - China

Gallery

File:Potanthus_pseudomaesa,_Kerala,_India_2009-10-18.jpg, The Indian dart ('' Potanthus pseudomaesa'') from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

File:Potanthus flavus1.jpg, '' Potanthus flavus'' from

File:Potanthus niobe - Philippines (1).jpg, '' Potanthus niobe'' from

, Philippines File:Lesser Dart Potanthus omaha omaha. DSCF6561 (14). Singapore.JPG, '' Potanthus omaha'' from

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

File:Potanthus pava - Luzon, Philippines.jpg, '' Potanthus pava'' from

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, Philippines

References

External links

Images representing ''Potanthus''
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
Images representing ''Potanthus''
at Encyclopedia of Life {{Taxonbar, from=Q7234667 Hesperiidae genera Taxa named by Samuel Hubbard Scudder Taxa described in 1872