The roles of wing color pattern and geography in the evolution of Neotropical Preponini butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Diversification rates and evolutionary trajectories are known to be influenced by phenotypic traits and the geographic history of the landscapes that organisms inhabit. One of the most conspicuous traits in butterflies is their wing color pattern, which has been shown to be important in speciation. The evolution of many taxa in the Neotropics has also been influenced by major geological events. Using a dated, species-level molecular phylogenetic hypothesis for Preponini, a colorful Neotropical butterfly tribe, we evaluated whether diversification rates were constant or varied through time, and how they were influenced by color pattern evolution and biogeographical events. We found that Preponini originated approximately 28 million years ago and that diversification has increased through ti

SUBMITTER: Ortiz-Acevedo E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7713932 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature