The coming and going of Batesian mimicry in a Holarctic butterfly clade.
A study using phylogenetic hypothesis testing, published in BMC Evolutionary Biology, suggests that non-mimetic forms of the North American white admiral butterfly evolved from a mimetic ancestor. This case might provide one of the first examples in which mimicry was gained and then lost again, emphasizing the evolutionary lability of Batesian mimicry. See research article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/10/239.
Fiedler
Konrad
K
Department of Animal Biodiversity, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria. konrad.fiedler@univie.ac.at
D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002080:Butterflies / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009656:North America; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D010858:Pigmentation / Q000502:physiology*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000502:physiology*