Morpho sulkowskyi
Species of butterfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morpho sulkowskyi, or Sulkowsky's morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
| Sulkowsky's morpho | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Morpho |
| Species: | M. sulkowskyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Morpho sulkowskyi (Kollar, 1850) | |
Habitat
Morpho sulkowskyi is a Tropical Andes cloud forest specialist (above 800 to 1,500 meters as high as 3500 meters). Morpho sulkowskyi and Morpho lympharis are the sole Morphos occupying this habitat.
Taxonomy
Morpho sulkowskyi and Morpho lympharis may be conspecific. There are several subspecies and many forms have been described.
Subspecies
- Morpho sulkowskyi sulkowskyi V. Kollar, 1850
- Morpho sulkowskyi hoppiana F.W. Niepelt, 1923
- Morpho sulkowskyi selenaris E. Le Moult & P. Réal, 1962
- Morpho sulkowskyi sirene F.W. Niepelt, 1911
Similar species
It is very similar to, and maybe conspecific with Morpho lympharis.
Colors
The color of a Morpho sulkowskyi is white with a holographic shine to them. Both the presence of fluorescent pigments in their wings and the nanostructure of their wings are responsible for the iridescent fluorescence of M. sulkowskyi. The major blue fluorescent pigment contributing to the fluorescence of M. sulkowskyi was found to be L-erythro biopterin, along with minor components of pterin and isoxanthopterin.[2]
