Sunset Morpho
Encyclopedia
The Sunset Morpho is the largest species in the genus morpho with a wingspan
than can reach 20 centimetres (7.9 in), but is usually from 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in). It is a tropical butterfly
only found in the northern Amazon Basin
and the Guianas. It has several subspecies
and has sometimes also included M. cisseis
as a subspecies.
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
than can reach 20 centimetres (7.9 in), but is usually from 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in). It is a tropical butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
only found in the northern Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
and the Guianas. It has several subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
and has sometimes also included M. cisseis
Morpho cisseis
The Cisseis Morpho is a large Neotropical butterfly found in the southern and western Amazon in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil. It includes several subspecies, but has itself sometimes been treated as a subspecies of the Sunset Morpho. Both are highly valued by...
as a subspecies.