A macroevolutionary perspective of cryptic coloration in sexually dichromatic grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae).

ABSTRACT: Background matching and disruptive coloration are defense mechanisms of animals against visual predators. Disruptive coloration tends to evolve in microhabitats that are visually heterogeneous, while background matching is favored in microhabitats that are chromatically homogeneous. Controlling for the phylogeny, we explored the evolution of the coloration and the marking patterns in the sexual dichromatic and widely distributed neotropical grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium. These grasshoppers represent an excellent model to investigate the evolution of cryptic coloration on insects due to the heterogeneity of the environments where they have evolved. We found a correlation between the grasshoppers' coloration and disruptive markings with the chromatic properties of their environments t

SUBMITTER: Ramirez-Delgado VH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11723891 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature