Ancyluris meliboeus

Ancyluris meliboeus (meliboeus swordtail) is a butterfly of the family Riodinidae. It is found in Surinam, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru.

Underside

Meliboeus swordtail
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Riodinidae
Genus:
Ancyluris
Species:
A. meliboeus
Binomial name
Ancyluris meliboeus
(Fabricius, 1777)
Synonyms
  • Papilio meliboeus Fabricius, 1777
  • Papilio pyretus Cramer, [1777]
  • Ancyluris pyrete Hübner, [1819]
  • Ancyluris meliboeus phonia Stichel, 1909
  • Ancyluris eudaemon Stichel, 1910

The wingspan is about 40 mm. A recent study has shown that it has patches of unusual microstructure on the ventral wing scales. This highly tilted, multilayered arrangement produces a bright iridescence of broad wavelength range and generates a strong flicker contrast from minimal wing movement.

Subspecies
  • Ancyluris meliboeus meliboeus (Surinam, Brazil (Amazonas), Peru)
  • Ancyluris meliboeus euaemon (Peru, Colombia, Bolivia)
  • Ancyluris meliboeus julia (Brazil)


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.