In a groundbreaking study, National Geographic Explorer Rosser and his team have demonstrated how hybridization can lead to the evolution of new species. The research revealed that the two parental species of H. elevatus had remained distinct for around two million years, but a DNA mishmash occurred approximately 180,000 years ago during a global ice age when the Amazonian rainforest served as a biodiversity refugium.
This discovery is significant as scientists have long sought to find an animal species that originated from two parental species combining their genomes, with mules being an example of a hybrid. The fact that these species were found in the rainforests of South America, including the canopy flyer H. elevatus, further highlights the importance of preserving these habitats for future research and conservation efforts.
David Lohman, a professor at the City College of New York who was not involved in the study, praised the findings. He stated that the researchers had demonstrated a phenomenon in nature that many had hypothesized but few had proven. Lohman is part of a team that recently constructed the most comprehensive butterfly tree of life and has firsthand experience with the unique characteristics of Heliconius butterflies.
These butterflies are unique in that they consume flower pollen and use it to produce cyanogenic glycosides that make them distasteful to predators. They display bright, high-contrast aposematic coloration that signals their unpalatability to potential threats. The discovery of these species and their unique adaptations highlights the incredible diversity and resilience of life on Earth.
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