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And the vouchers are here in our Museum!<br>
<br>
André<br>
<br>
<b>De:</b> heliconius-bounces@ucl.ac.uk
[<a href="mailto:heliconius-bounces@ucl.ac.uk" eudora="autourl">
mailto:heliconius-bounces@ucl.ac.uk</a>] <b>Em nome de </b>James
Mallet<br>
<b>Enviada em:</b> quarta-feira, 15 de dezembro de 2010 14:44<br>
<b>Para:</b> heliconius@ucl.ac.uk<br>
<b>Assunto:</b> [HELICONIUS] Ithomiinae interspecific hybridization,
something I didn't know about<br>
<br>
Vasconcellos-Neto, J. 1982. Interspecific hybridization in
<i>Mechanitis</i> butterflies (Ithomiinae): a novel pathway for the
breakdown of isolating mechanisms. Biotropica 14:288-294. <br>
<u><a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/info/2388088">
http://www.jstor.org/stable/info/2388088</a></u> <br>
A novel pathway is proposed to explain the occasional breakdown of
prezygotic (chemical-courtship) isolating mechanisms in mimetic ithomiine
butterflies (Mechanitis polymnia and M. lysimma) In dense dry-season
populations, mixed groups of males have been observed to court a single
female. She becomes receptive through recognition of the pheromone
produced by the conspecific majority males, but may be mated by a
transpecific minority male in the courting group, leading to accidental
interspecific hybridization. All five interspecific matings observed in
Sumare, Sao Paulo, Brazil, were between a female of the more-abundant
species, M. polymnia casabranca, and a male of the less-abundant M.
lysimnia lysimnia. The F1 hybrid can probably backcross to both parental
types, as many recombinant phenotypes are represented in the 48 presumed
hybrids known from six localities, among over 36,500 parental types
sampled or marked during seven years. The small interspecific
introgression may occasionally be important in the evolution of these
mimetic butterflies. <br>
best, j<br><br>
________________________________<br><br>
James Mallet<br>
UCL<br>
<a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim">www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim</a>
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