Una nueva subespecie de Morpho Cypris Westwood, 1851, descubierta en la zona norte de la cordillera central de Colombia (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae).

Abstract

Results. The new subspecies Morpho cypris zafiro  n. ssp., represents an endemic population of the Porce river basin, on the northern slope of the Central Cordillera of Colombia in the department of Antioquia, different from the three subspecies known in Colombia: Morpho cypris cypris which inhabits the Middle Magdalena River Valley, Morpho cypris johnsoni which inhabits the request of the Serrania de Los Motilones and the Morpho cypris crhysonicus, which inhabits the western slope of the Andes and the Pacific plain from Ecuador to Uraba, in Colombia. Conclusions. The larger blue coloration area and the thin medial white strip constitute a constant pattern of the new subspecies, smaller in the dorsal face than that described for the Panamanian subspecies Morpho cypris smalli. Methodology. Based on seven specimens collected in the last 37 years, we present the description and comparison of Morpho cypris zafiro n. ssp with Morpho cypris cypris and Morpho cypris crhysonicus. Objective. The objective is to contribute to the knowledge of the lepidoptera of Colombia and their distribution, and to show that it is still possible, in one of the most studied groups of the world, to find new local subspecies that represent endemic populations.