📸 PhotoPhoto: Charles Oberthür · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Protantigius superans
Protantigius superans (Protantigius superans · Protantigius superans)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A maximum wingspan of 36 mm is about 1.4 times the diameter of a Korean 500-won coin (26.5 mm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Indiscriminate illegal collecting is cited as a cause of its decline. It can survive only where high-mountain oak forests and Korean aspen trees are present.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
Protantigius superans is the largest lycaenid butterfly living in high-mountain deciduous broad-leaved forests. It is a Class II endangered wildlife species in Korea.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its wingspan is 30–36 mm; the upper side is dark brown, while the underside is silvery white that strongly reflects sunlight. The hindwings have slender, long tail-like projections topped with orange markings.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Adults emerge once a year from mid-June to late August, and males hold territories near the tops of oak trees over 10 m tall. From around mid-July, females lay eggs singly beneath the winter buds of Korean aspen, their host plant.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is a Class II endangered wildlife species (Korea). Distributed in Inje, Jeongseon, Pyeongchang, and Hwacheon in Gangwon-do, it is considered to be declining due to illegal collecting and habitat damage.
📚 Sources & References
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000034456 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000034456
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • Korean protection status: Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
- • catalogueoflife.org — 77YYH
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000034456 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000034456
- • wikidata.org — Q13485785
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Oberthur 1914LepidopterologieCompariePlateCCLV.jpg
- • nie.re.kr — view.do
- • bok.or.kr — contents.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Judy Gallagher · CC BY 4.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Lycaena phlaeas)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.