Global InformationMorpho amathonte information
| Morpho amathonte | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
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| Female from Colombia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Morpho |
| Species: | M. amathonte
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| Binomial name | |
| Morpho amathonte (Deyrolle, 1860)
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| Synonyms | |
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Morpho amathonte is a Neotropical butterfly belonging to the subfamily Morphinae of the family Nymphalidae. It is considered, by some authors,[who?] 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]
- ^ 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]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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".