''Methone'' is a

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 butterfly family

Riodinidae Riodinidae is the family of metalmark butterflies. The common name "metalmarks" refers to the small, metallic-looking spots commonly found on their wings. The 1,532 species are placed in 146 genera. Although mostly Neotropical in distribution, ...

present only in 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 ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Methone'' is

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 ...

. The single species is ''Methone cecilia'' is unmistakably characterized by the conspicuous colouring and the deeply indented margin of the hindwing being continued in the female at the ends of the veins into teeth-like small tails. On the forewing the subcostal is four-branched; the branches 1 and 2 rise before, 3 and 4 behind the cell. The hindwing is without a basal vein. The palpi are extremely short. The colouring resembles that of certain '' Themone'', '' Cartea,'' '' Monethe'', '' Aricoris'' which

imitate Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of learning that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our cu ...

butterflies such as

Ithomiinae Ithomiini is a butterfly tribe in the nymphalid subfamily Danainae. It is sometimes referred to as the tribe of clearwing butterflies or glasswing butterflies. Some authors consider the group to be a subfamily (Ithomiinae). These butterflies are ...

and pericopine moths. The females are very stout and clumsy which makes them still more similar to the unwieldy ''

Actinote ''Actinote'' is a genus of butterflies from South America of the subfamily Heliconiinae in the family Nymphalidae. (For taxonomic problems regarding this group, see ''Acraea (genus), Acraea''.) Male, Males interact with or without physical contac ...

''. They are quite common but they are local and seem not to leave their birthplace.

List of subspecies

* ''M. c. cecilia'' present in

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

and

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

* ''M. c. chrysomela'' (Butler, 1872)Methonella chrysomela Butler, 1872; Cistula ent. 1: 78, present in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

* ''M. c. magnarea'' (Seitz, 1913) present in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

( Amazonas),

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

* ''M. c. eurotias'' (Stichel, 1919) present in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

* ''M. c. caduca'' (Stichel, 1919) present in

References

''Methone'' at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1893667 Riodinidae Riodinidae of South America Lepidoptera of Bolivia Lepidoptera of Brazil Lepidoptera of Colombia Butterflies of Central America Lepidoptera of Ecuador Lepidoptera of French Guiana Lepidoptera of Peru Fauna of Suriname Fauna of the Amazon Butterflies described in 1777 Taxa named by Edward Doubleday