The morpho butterflies comprise many species of Neotropical butterfly under the genus Morpho. This genus includes more than 29 accepted species and 147 accepted subspecies, found mostly in South America, Mexico, and Central America. Morpho wingspans range from for M. rhodopteron to for M. hecuba, the imposing sunset morpho. The name morpho, meaning "changed" or "modified", is also an epithet.
Blue morphos are severely threatened by the deforestation of tropical forests and habitat fragmentation. Humans provide a direct threat to this spectacular creature because their beauty attracts artists and collectors from all over the globe who wish to capture and display them. Aside from humans, birds like the jacamar and flycatcher are the adult butterfly’s natural predators.
Many names attach to the genus Morpho. The genus has also been divided into subgenera. Hundreds of form, variety, and aberration names are used among Morpho species and subspecies. One lepidopterist includes all such species within a single genus, and synonymized many names in a limited number of species. Two other lepidopterists use a phylogenetic analysis with different nomenclature. Other authorities accept many more species.
The genus name Morpho comes from an Ancient Greek epithet μορφώ, roughly "the shapely one", for Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.
This list is arranged alphabetically within species groups.
Subgenus Iphimedeia
Species group hercules
Morpho amphitryon Staudinger, 1887
Morpho hercules (Dalman, 1823) – Hercules morpho
Morpho richardus Fruhstorfer, 1898 – Richard's morpho
Species group hecuba
Morpho cisseis C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860 – Cisseis morpho
Morpho hecuba (Linnaeus, 1771) – sunset morpho
Species group telemachus
Morpho telemachus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Morpho theseus Deyrolle, 1860 – Theseus morpho
Subgenus Iphixibia
Morpho anaxibia (Esper, 1801)
Subgenus Cytheritis
Species group sulkowskyi
Morpho sulkowskyi – Sulkowsky's morpho
Species group lympharis
Morpho lympharis Butler, 1873 – Lympharis morpho
Species group rhodopteron
Morpho rhodopteron Godman & Salvin, 1880
Species group portis
Morpho portis (Hübner, [1821])
Morpho thamyris C.