Interesting Facts
Description
Family Riodinidae
'The Riodinidae are members
of the Superfamily
Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. They typically thrive in the tropical
latitudes
, especially those of the Americas, and approximately 1,300 species are known. Small to medium in size, metalmarks vary widely in their patterns
, behavior, and postures. Males have reduced front legs
that are not used for walking, and females have three pairs of walking legs. Adults
usually perch with their wings
spread
open or cocked slightly, while many tropical species habitually perch upside down
on large leaves. Males locate mates by perching
, rather than patrolling
. Egg
shape
varies widely, but caterpillars are typically slug-shaped. Metalmarks overwinter
in the larval or pupal stage.
'[1]
Habitat
Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -38 meters (0 to -125 feet).[2]
Biome: Marine .
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Class:
Insecta
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Insects
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Family:
Riodinidae
()
- Metalmarks
- Genus:
Melanis
()
- Hübner, 1819
- Specific name:
electron
- Subspecies:
melantho
- Scientific name: - Melanis electron melantho
- Subspecies:
melantho
- Specific name:
electron
- Genus:
Melanis
(
- Family:
Riodinidae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Class:
Insecta
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Melanis
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 5 species and subspecies in this genus:
M. aegates (Aegates Pixie) · M. cephise (White-Rayed Pixie) · M. marathon charon (Marathon Pixie) · M. pixe (Red-Bordered Pixie) · M. pronostriga (Pronostriga Pixie)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
Identifiers
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2291841
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=17&sci=Riodinidae&com=Metalmarks [back]
- Mean = 123.110 meters (403.904 feet), Standard Deviation = 483.330 based on 9 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
