Genomics of Neotropical biodiversity indicators: Two butterfly radiations with rampant chromosomal rearrangements and hybridization.

ABSTRACT: A central question in evolutionary biology is what drives the diversification of lineages. Rapid, recent radiations are ideal systems for this question because they still show key morphological and ecological adaptations associated with speciation. While most research on recent radiations focuses on those occurring in insular environments, less attention has been given to continental radiations with complex species interactions. Here, we study the drivers of continental radiations of Melinaea and Mechanitis butterflies (Nymphalidae: Ithomiini), which have rapidly radiated in the continental Neotropics. They are classical models for Amazonian biogeography and color pattern mimicry and have been proposed as biodiversity indicators. We generated reference genomes for five specie

SUBMITTER: van der Heijden ESM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12337270 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature