Morph

A 'morph' is the name given to specific groups of insects that are all of the same species but differ in appearance.

For example, the Peppered moth (Biston betularia) has several different colour morphs. There is both a black and a white form and it was changes in the proportions of these different morphs in a populations exposed to pollution that lead to the discovery of industrial melanism and improved our understanding of evolution.

Photographs of the two different forms of Peppered moth (Biston betularia).
Photograph by Olaf Leillinger licensed under Creative Commons.

Related terms

• Industrial melanism
• Subspecies

Related groups of terms

• General biology

See other words beginning with M