Contents
Morpho sulkowskyi
Morpho sulkowskyi, or Sulkowsky's morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
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
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.
This article is derived from Wikipedia and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. View the original article.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Bliptext is not
affiliated with or endorsed by Wikipedia or the
Wikimedia Foundation.