Heliconius elevatus
Andrew V. Z. Brower and Margarita Beltrán
Introduction
Heliconius elevatus, a member of the "silvaniform" clade, represents one of the numerous independently-derived instances of the red, black and yellow dennis-ray wing pattern that is the dominant mimicry complex among Amazonian Heliconius species.
Characteristics
Both H. elevatus and rayed H. melpomene races exhibit a horizontal red bar from the base of the hindwing across the discal cell, roughly parallel with the costal margin, and the distal red rays starting from a more-or-less straight line posterior to this and running relatively parallel towards the posterior margin of the wing. This is in contrast to the other rayed Heliconius species (e. g., H. erato, H. demeter, H. xanthocles), in which the discal cell has a teardrop-shaped red mark, and the rays emanate radially from the distal margin of the cell. H. elevatus adults may be distinguished from mimetic H. melpomene races by the yellow subcostal stripe on the underside of the hindwing, which is red in H. melpomene. Also, in H. elevatus, the proximal ends of the hindwing rays are broadened, giving the appearance of "nail heads."
Geographical Distribution
Distribution of Heliconius elevatus and related species. © 2002 Margarita Beltran.
Geographical Races
H. elevatus has a number of named geographical races that vary mainly in the degree and position of the yellow forewing spots (Brown 1979; Lamas 2004). Although some forms lack the red hindwing rays, all of them have the red basal patch on the forewing.
- Heliconius elevatus elevatus Noldner 1901, Amazonia
- Heliconius elevatus bari Oberthür 1902, Guianas
- Heliconius elevatus tumatumari Kaye 1906, Guyana
- Heliconius elevatus roraima J. R. G. Turner 1966, western Guyana
- Heliconius elevatus zoelleri Neukirchen 1990, Venezuela
- Heliconius elevatus taracuanus Bryk 1953, upper Rio Negro
- Heliconius elevatus willmotti Neukirchen 1997, eastern Ecuador
- Heliconius elevatus pseudocupineus Neustetter 1931, Peru: Ucayali
- Heliconius elevatus lapis Lamas 1976, Peru: Madre de Dios
- Heliconius elevatus perchlora Joicey & Kaye 1917, Bolivia
- Heliconius elevatus schmassmanni Joicey & Talbot 1925, southern Amazonia
- Heliconius elevatus sonjae Neukirchen 1990, lower Amazon
References
Brown, K. S., Jr. 1979 Ecologia Geogr?fica e Evolu??o nas Florestas Neotropicais. Campinas, S?o Paulo, Brasil: Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
Lamas, G. (ed.) 2004 Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A Hesperioidea - Papiionoidea. Gainesville: Scientific Publishers/Association of Tropical Lepidoptera.
Neukirchen, W. M. 1990 Ein neuer Heliconius aus Venezuela (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Entomol. Z. 100, 310-312.
Neukirchen, W. M. 1997 Zwei neue Heliconiinae aus dem Oriente Ecuadors (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Entomol. Z. 107, 482-487.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Heliconius elevatus |
|---|---|
| Specimen Condition | Dead Specimen |
| View | Dorsal |
| Collection | Gerardo Lamas |
| ToL Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
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| Copyright |
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|
| Scientific Name | Heliconius elevatus |
|---|---|
| Specimen Condition | Dead Specimen |
| View | Ventral |
| Collection | Gerardo Lamas |
| ToL Image Use |
This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
|
| Copyright |
©
|
About This Page
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Andrew V. Z. Brower at and Margarita Beltr?n at
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Heliconius elevatus .
Authored by
Andrew V. Z. Brower and Margarita Beltr?n.
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- First online 18 February 2007
- Content changed 21 June 2008
Citing this page:
Brower, Andrew V. Z. and Beltrán, Margarita. 2008. Heliconius elevatus . Version 21 June 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Heliconius_elevatus/72900/2008.06.21 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
