透過博物館大量館藏資訊瞭解非洲白鳳蝶(Papilio dardanus)的型態與分佈
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| photo from Papilio dardanus (wiki) |
標題：Characterising the phenotypic diversity of Papilio dardanus wing patterns using an extensive museum collection.
摘要
The history of 20th Century evolutionary biology can be followed through the study of mimetic butterflies. From the initial findings of discontinuous polymorphism through the debates regarding the evolution of mimicry and the step-size of evolutionary change, to the studies on supergene evolution and molecular characterisation of butterfly genomes, mimetic butterflies have been at the heart of evolutionary thought for over 100 years. During this time, few species have received as much attention and in-depth study as Papilio dardanus. To assist all aspects of mimicry research, we present a complete data-derived overview of the extent of polymorphism within this species. Using historical samples permanently held by the NHM London, we document the extent of phenotypic variation and characterise the diversity present in each of the subspecies and how it varies across Africa. We also demonstrate an association between ‘‘imperfect’’ mimetic forms and the transitional race formed in the area where Eastern and Western African populations meet around Lake Victoria. We present a novel portal for access to this collection, www.mimeticbutterflies.org, allowing remote access to this unique repository. It is hoped that this online resource can act as a nucleus for the sharing and dissemination of other collections databases and imagery connected with mimetic butterflies.
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| 非洲白鳳蝶的多態型，左上方框內是雄性，線的上方是各種斑蝶與細蝶，線的下方是各型雌性白鳳蝶 photo from mimeticbutterflies.org |
非洲的白鳳蝶(Papilio dardanus)是知名的貝氏擬態的鳳蝶，其豐富的多態型各自擬態非洲各地的細蝶、斑蝶等不好吃的種類。白鳳蝶的擬態實際上只有雌性參與其中，而雄性只有一種型態，在多態型的雌性中，除了擬態各種不同的蝴蝶外，神奇的也存在雄性型的雌性。
1960年代，透過孟德爾式的遺傳學雜交試驗瞭解不同族群間的斑紋變化，而且結果顯示白鳳蝶的斑紋變化是來自一個超基因；到了2008年，基於現代的分生技術，終於找到超基因的位置。即使如此，雌性的型態實在太多了，除了上面這些看起來精準擬態的斑紋外，也有更多看起來是中間型的種類，因此雖然已經研究到基因體層級的情況下，基礎的斑紋與地理分佈還沒有整體性的調查過。
| 雌性各種不同的型與名稱 photo from Fig. 1 |
| 取樣密度與地點 photo from Fig. 3
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| 中間型的分佈區域 photo from Fig. 7 |
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