Morpho laertes
Morpho laertes, the white morpho or epistrophus white morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly found in Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. The white morpho is native to the Atlantic Forest, where they are distributed throughout a landscape of multiple species.
Taxonomy
When first described in 1782 laertes was placed in the genus Papilio. The specimen was from Brasília. It is a valid name in The Global Lepidoptera Names Index.Currently it is placed in the subgenus Pessonia of genus Morpho, along with the closely related species Morpho catenarius, Morpho luna, Morpho polyphemus, and Morpho titei. It is now considered a junior synonym of Morpho laertes.
Etymology
The name comes from Laërtes, a figure in Greek mythology. Epistrophus is a character in the Iliad.Subspecies
Subspecies in alphabetical order:- Morpho epistrophus argentinus H. Fruhstorfer, 1907
- Morpho epistrophus catenaria Perry, 1811
- Morpho epistrophus epistrophus = Morpho laertes Drury 1782
- Morpho epistrophus titei E. Le Moult & P. Réal, 1962