Diversity in mimicry: paradox or paradigm?
Visual mimicry is a textbook case of natural selection because it is both intuitively understandable and has repeatedly evolved in a range of organisms: it is the ultimate example of parallel evolution. In many mimetic groups, particularly butterflies, a huge variety of colour patterns has arisen, even in closely related species. There has been much recent controversy over explanations of this variety. Mimicry is today a broad field of evolutionary study; here we discuss the evolution of its diversity in predator-prey systems.
Génétique et Environnement, CC065 ISEM, Université de Montpellier 2, Place Bataillon, F-34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
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Mallet