Morpho thamyris Felder 1867

Morpho thamyris, the Thamyris morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly found in Paraguay and Brazil (Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul).

Many subspecies have been described.

Etymology

Thamyris was a singer in Greek mythology who was so proud of his skill that he boasted he could outsing the Muses. His story is told in the Iliad.

Taxonomy

Some authors consider Morpho thamyris to be a subspecies of Morpho portis (Hübner, [1821])

References

• Eugène Le Moult & Pierre Réal, 1962-1963. Les Morpho d'Amérique du Sud et Centrale, Editions du cabinet entomologique E. Le Moult, Paris.
• Adalbert Seitz (Ed.) 1907. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde, vol. 5. Stuttgart, Alfred Kernen.
• Paul Smart, 1976 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color. London, Salamander: Encyclopedie des papillons. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition) ISBN 9780948427046 ISBN 0600313816 page 234 fig. 2 (Brazil) and page 235 fig. 8, underside (Brazil).