Summary
The inheritance of a colour polymorphism exhibited by the larvae of Chlosyne gorgone is reported to involve two loci with dominance at each locus in addition to the presence of a dominant epistatic relationship. The identity of the polymorphs and their inheritance mechanism with the polymorphs and inheritance mechanism of the congener C. lacinia indicates a high probability of the involvement of homologous genetic loci. These two butterfly species appear to have equivalent ecological niches. The simultaneous retention of the polymorphism and the ecological niche during speciation and post-speciation by these two species is briefly discussed.
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References
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Neck, R. Homologous polymorphism and niche equivalence in the butterfly genus Chlosyne. Heredity 31, 118–123 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1973.64
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1973.64
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