page_title: Urania sloanus
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Urania sloanus / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Urania sloanus illustration in Plate LXXXV of Cramer &amp; Stoll's "De uitlandsche kapellen: voorkomende in de drie waereld-deelen Asia, Africa en America"
context_page_description: Urania sloanus, or Sloane's urania, was a species of moth of the family Uraniidae endemic to Jamaica. It was last reported in 1894 or 1895, but possibly survived until at least 1908. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1779.
  The specific epithet sloanus honours Sir Hans Sloane, an English collector whose collection became the foundation of the British Museum.
context_section_description: This extinct Urania species was black with iridescent red, blue and green markings. The iridescent parts of the wings do not have pigment; as determined by optical analysis on the species Urania fulgens belonging to the same genus. The color originates from refraction of light by the ribbon-like scales covering the moth's wings.
  Urania sloanus is considered "the most spectacular Urania species". As most species of the subfamily Uraniinae, it was a day-flying moth while most moths are active at night; its bright colors advertised, as a warning, the fact that it was also toxic.
caption: Illustration from Pieter Cramer and Caspar Stoll's De uitlandsche kapellen: voorkomende in de drie waereld-deelen Asia, Africa en America
exif: {}