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Heliconius tristero Brower 1996

Andrew V. Z. Brower
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Containing group: Heliconius

Introduction

Heliconius tristero was described in 1996 by Brower, based on two specimens collected near Mocoa, Colombia. The species is a very precise Müllerian mimic of sympatric H. erato dignus and H. melpomene mocoa. Additional specimens have not been observed, despite considerable subsequent fieldwork. Some have hypothesized that the species may be of hybrid origin (see H. heurippa page).

Characteristics

The wing pattern of H. tristero is almost identical to that of H. melpomene mocoa, except that the red forewing band lies distal to the apex of the discal cell, while in H. melpomene mocoa the red band cuts across the distal end of the discal cell. The mtDNA sequence of H. tristero places it as a close relative of H. cydno and its offshoots H. heurippa and H. timareta.

References

Brower AVZ. 1996. A new mimetic species of Heliconius (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), from southeastern Colombia, as revealed by cladistic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 116: 317-332.

Brower AVZ. 2000. On the validity of Heliconius tristero and Heliconius melpomene mocoa Brower, with notes on species concepts in Heliconius Kluk (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 103: 678-687.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Heliconius tristero
Location Colombia: Dpto. Putumayo,, 6 km. N. Mocoa
Comments The head and thorax were removed from the specimen for DNA extraction prior to recognition that it represented a new taxon. The abdomen was subsequently dissected for morphological study of genitalia.
Reference Brower AVZ. 1996. A new mimetic species of Heliconius (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), from southeastern Colombia, as revealed by cladistic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 116: 317-332.
Acknowledgements A version of this image was published in Brower (1996).
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Identified By Andrew V. Z. Brower
Sex Male
Life Cycle Stage adult
Body Part wings and legs
View dorsal and ventral
Collection Cornell University Insect Collection
Type Holotype
Collector Andrew V. Z. Brower
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1996
About This Page


Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Andrew V. Z. Brower at

Page: Tree of Life Heliconius tristero Brower 1996. Authored by Andrew V. Z. Brower. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Brower, Andrew V. Z. 2007. Heliconius tristero Brower 1996. Version 19 February 2007 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Heliconius_tristero/72892/2007.02.19 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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