''Iophanus'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

described by

Max Wilhelm Karl Draudt Max Wilhelm Karl Draudt (11 March 1875, Darmstadt – 4 April 1953 Darmstadt) was a German entomologist, who specialised in Lepidoptera. His collections of the Lepidoptera of Mexico are conserved in various institutions such as Senckenberg Museum ...

in 1920. The single species of this genus, ''Iophanus pyrrhias'', the Guatemalan copper, was described by

Frederick DuCane Godman Frederick DuCane Godman DCL FRS FLS FGS FRGS FES FZS MRI FRHS (15 January 1834 – 19 February 1919) was an English lepidopterist, entomologist and ornithologist. He was one of the twenty founding members of the British Ornithologists' Un ...

and

Osbert Salvin Osbert Salvin FRS (25 February 1835 – 1 June 1898) was an English naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist best known for co-authoring ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' (1879–1915) with Frederick DuCane Godman. This was a 52 volume encyc ...

in 1887. It is found in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, the highlands of

Chiapas, Mexico Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

, and apparently in a few other areas of the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

.Highlands of Chiapas
/ref>

Description

''Iophanus pyrrhias'' is a small butterfly. The hindwing ends in a short tail. The upperside is brown, with a distinct purple-metallic sheen on the males. The females are dull brown except for an iridescent blue field at the base of the forewings. Along the rear edge is an orange zigzag. The underside of the forewings is dull yellow with brown edges and brown stripes; the underside of the hindwings is brown with some darker markings.

Bibliography

* Godman, F. D. & Salvin, O. 1879-1901 (1881) ''Biologia Centrali-Americana''. London: Taylor & Francis. Vol. 2, plate LVIII. * Heppner, J. B. 2007. "Notes on ''Iophanus pyrrhias'' in Guatemala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)". ''Tropical Lepidoptera''. 17 (1-2): 14. * Lamas, G. 2004. ''Lycaeninae''. pp. 137–138 in Lamas, G. (ed.) ''Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A Hesperioidea - Papiionoidea''. Gainesville: Scientific Publishers/Association of Tropical Lepidoptera.

References

External links

* * *
Butterflies of America: Lycaenidae: ''Iophanus pyrrhias''
(illustrations of museum and live specimens, variants) Lycaeninae Lycaenidae of South America Taxa named by Max Wilhelm Karl Draudt Monotypic butterfly genera Lycaenidae genera {{Lycaeninae-stub