Morpho amathonte

Morpho amathonte
Morpho amathonte. Male
Morpho amathonte from Colombia. Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Morphinae
Tribe: Morphini
Genus: Morpho
Species: M. amathonte
Binomial name
Morpho amathonte
(Deyrolle, 1860)

Morpho amathonte is a Neotropical butterfly belonging to the Nymphalidae family, Morphinae subfamily. It is considered, by some authors, to be a subspecies of Morpho menelaus.

The genus Morpho is palatable but some species (such as M. amathonte) are very strong fliers; birds – even species which are specialized for catching butterflies on the wing – find it very hard to catch them.[1][2] The conspicuous blue coloration shared by most Morpho species may be a case of Müllerian mimicry, or may be 'pursuit aposematism'.[3]

Contents

Description

Morpho amathonte has a wingspan of about 100–150 millimetres (3.9–5.9 in). This species shows an evident sexual dimorphism which differentiates males from females. The basic colour in males is bright metallic blue, sometimes bluish. In the females the upper surfaces of the wings are partially blue and have a wide dark gray-brown margins, decorated with small white spots running along the outer edge of both wings. From closely related species Morpho amathonte is distinguished by a large dark spot at the top of the front wings. The undersides of the wings are brown, becoming lighter towards the edges, with 3-4 colorful and bright eyes clearly visible on each wing.

Distribution

This species can be found found in Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.

References

  1. ^ Pinheiro, Carlos E.G. 1996. Palatability and escaping ability in Neotropical butterflies: tests with wild kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus, Tyrannidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 59(4): 351–365 [1]
  2. ^ Young A.M. 1971. Wing colouration and reflectance in Morpho butterflies as related to reproductive behaviour and escape from avian predators. Oecologia 7, 209–222.
  3. ^ Edmunds M. 1974. Defence in Animals: a survey of anti-predator defences. Harlow, Essex and NY: Longman. ISBN 0-582-44132-3. On p255–256 there is a discussion of 'pursuit aposematism':
    "Young suggested that the brilliant blue colours and bobbing flight of Morpho butterflies may induce pursuit... Morpho amathonte is a very fast flier... It is possible that birds that have chased several unsuccessfully may learn not to pursue butterflies of that [type]... In one area, Young found that 80% of less brilliant species of Morpho had beak marks on their wings... but none out of 31 M. amathonte.
    "If brilliant colour was a factor in courtship, then the conflicting selection pressures of sexual selection and predator selection might lead to different results in quite closely related species".

External links