Subtle variation in size and shape of the whole forewing and the red band among co-mimics revealed by geometric morphometric analysis in Heliconius butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Heliconius are unpalatable butterflies that exhibit remarkable intra- and interspecific variation in wing color pattern, specifically warning coloration. Species that have converged on the same pattern are often clustered in Müllerian mimicry rings. Overall, wing color patterns are nearly identical among co-mimics. However, fine-scale differences exist, indicating that factors in addition to natural selection may underlie wing phenotype. Here, we investigate differences in shape and size of the forewing and the red band in the Heliconius postman mimicry ring (H. erato phyllis and the co-mimics H. besckei, H. melpomene burchelli, and H. melpomene nanna) using a landmark-based approach. If phenotypic evolution is driven entirely by predation pressure, we ex

SUBMITTER: Rossato DO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5869215 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature