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Cyphochilus
''Cyphochilus'' is a genus of beetles with unusually bright white scales that cover the whole exoskeleton. ''Cyphochilus'' inhabit Southeast Asia. Etymology Probably the same etymology as the former ''Cyphochilus'' orchid: from the Greek ''kyphos'' meaning "bent" and ''cheilos'' meaning "lip", because of the reflexed lip. External morphology The whiteness of the scales is caused by a thin disordered photonic structure (≈7 μm) which scatters light of all wavelengths with the same efficiency, thus resulting in a white colouration. This is particularly interesting as the beetle's exoskeleton underneath the scales is black, meaning that the scattering events must be very efficient in order to achieve such high opaqueness. The white scales are composed of sclerotin, a modified form of the polymer chitin, and are whiter than paper or any artificial material produced so far. That is they have a scattering mean free path shorter than any natural material thanks to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyphochilus Apicalis
''Cyphochilus'' is a genus of beetles with unusually bright white scales that cover the whole exoskeleton. ''Cyphochilus'' inhabit Southeast Asia. Etymology Probably the same etymology as the former ''Cyphochilus'' orchid: from the Greek ''kyphos'' meaning "bent" and ''cheilos'' meaning "lip", because of the reflexed lip. External morphology The whiteness of the scales is caused by a thin disordered photonic structure (≈7 μm) which scatters light of all wavelengths with the same efficiency, thus resulting in a white colouration. This is particularly interesting as the beetle's exoskeleton underneath the scales is black, meaning that the scattering events must be very efficient in order to achieve such high opaqueness. The white scales are composed of sclerotin, a modified form of the polymer chitin, and are whiter than paper or any artificial material produced so far. That is they have a scattering mean free path shorter than any natural material thanks to the anisotro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |