Lepidochrysops hypopolia

Description

Lepidochrysops hypopolia, the Morant's blue (Afrikaans: Morant-bloutjie), is an extinct species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was endemic to South Africa. The species is only known from two complete male specimens, and one partial male specimen (a leg). The species is named after Walter Morant, who caught the two complete male specimens. The complete specimens were both caught in Blue Bank, near Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal on 21 September 1870 by Morant. The partial specimen was discovered by Thomas Ayres near Potchefstroom, North West Province (South Africa) in 1879. This species was listed as extinct in S. F. Henning & G. A. Henning (1989) and G. A. Henning and S. F. Henning (1992b). Morant's complete specimens are on display at Natural History Museum, London. Ayres' partial specimen is on display in the South African Museum, Cape Town.