''Nymphalis cyanomelas'', the Mexican tortoiseshell, is a butterfly species in the family
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...
. It resides from southern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
to
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
.
Description
The undersides of both the male's and female's wings are dark mottled brown, much like tree bark, for
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
when the wings are together. The top side is mostly bark brown changing to blue (cyan, hence the
generic name ''cyanomelas'') or greenish blue towards the wingtips. The wingtips also have
chevron
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* '' Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...
s or lozenge-shaped dark markings along the wing margins. Males and females are similarly marked.
References
Mexican Tortoiseshell Butterflies of America
Interactive Listing of Mexican Butterflies
Nymphalis
Butterflies described in 1848
Taxa named by Edward Doubleday
Butterflies of Central America
Lepidoptera of Mexico
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