"Darwin's butterflies"? DNA barcoding and the radiation of the endemic Caribbean butterfly genus Calisto (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae).

ABSTRACT: The genus Calisto Hübner, 1823 is the only member of the diverse, global subfamily Satyrinae found in the West Indies, and by far the richest endemic Caribbean butterfly radiation. Calisto species occupy an extremely diverse array of habitats, suggestive of adaptive radiation on the scale of other classic examples such as the Galápagos or Darwin's finches. However, a reliable species classification is a key requisite before further evolutionary or ecological research. An analysis of 111 DNA 'barcodes' (655 bp of the mitochondrial gene COI) from 29 putative Calisto species represented by 31 putative taxa was therefore conducted to elucidate taxonomic relationships among these often highly cryptic and confusing taxa. The sympatric, morphologically and ecologically similar taxa Calisto confus

SUBMITTER: Sourakov A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3833777 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature