''Iophanus'' is a
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
butterfly
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
in the family
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ...
described by
Max Wilhelm Karl Draudt in 1920. The single species of this genus, ''Iophanus pyrrhias'', the Guatemalan copper, was described by
Frederick DuCane Godman
Frederick DuCane Godman (15 January 1834 – 19 February 1919) was an English lepidopterist, entomology, entomologist and ornithology, ornithologist. He was one of the twenty founding members of the British Ornithologists' Union. Along with Osb ...
and
Osbert Salvin
Osbert Salvin (25 February 1835 – 1 June 1898) was an English natural history, naturalist, Ornithology, ornithologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist best known for co-authoring ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' (1879–1915) with Frederick DuC ...
in 1887. It is found in
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
, the highlands of
Chiapas, Mexico, and apparently in a few other areas of the
Neotropical realm
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...
.
Highlands of Chiapas
/ref>
Description
''Iophanus pyrrhias'' is a small butterfly. The hindwing ends in a short tail. The upperside is brown, with a distinct purple-metallic sheen on the males. The females are dull brown except for an iridescent blue field at the base of the forewings. Along the rear edge is an orange zigzag. The underside of the forewings is dull yellow with brown edges and brown stripes; the underside of the hindwings is brown with some darker markings.
Bibliography
* Godman, F. D. & Salvin, O. 1879-1901 (1881) ''Biologia Centrali-Americana''. London: Taylor & Francis. Vol. 2, plate LVIII.
* Heppner, J. B. 2007. "Notes on ''Iophanus pyrrhias'' in Guatemala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)". ''Tropical Lepidoptera''. 17 (1–2): 14.
* Lamas, G. 2004. ''Lycaeninae''. pp. 137–138 in Lamas, G. (ed.) ''Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A Hesperioidea - Papiionoidea''. Gainesville: Scientific Publishers/Association of Tropical Lepidoptera.
References
External links
*
*
*
Butterflies of America: Lycaenidae: ''Iophanus pyrrhias''
(illustrations of museum and live specimens, variants)
Lycaeninae
Lycaenidae of South America
Taxa named by Max Wilhelm Karl Draudt
Monotypic butterfly genera
Lycaenidae genera
{{Lycaeninae-stub