— Archaeologists find new evidence of animals being introduced to prehistoric Caribbean — An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric…
— Microscopic worms could hold the key to living life on Mars — The astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believes that if humanity is to survive we will have up sticks and colonise space. But is the human body up to the challenge?…
— Chemical warfare of stealthy silverfish — A co-evolutionary arms race exists between social insects and their parasites. Army ants (Leptogenys distinguenda) share their nests with several parasites such as beetles, snails and…
— Stinky frogs are a treasure trove of antibiotic substances — Some of the nastiest smelling creatures on Earth have skin that produces the greatest known variety of anti-bacterial substances that hold promise for becoming new weapons in the battle…
— Genetic code of first arachnid cracked — An international team of scientists - including Ghent VIB scientists - has succeeded in deciphering the genome of the spider mite. This is also the first known genome of an arachnid.…
— How bats 'hear' objects in their path — By placing real and virtual objects in the flight paths of bats, scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Munich have shed new light on how echolocation works. Their research is…
— Counting cats: The endangered snow leopards of the Himalayas — The elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) lives high in the mountains across Central Asia. Despite potentially living across 12 countries the actual numbers of this beautiful large…
— Surprise role of nuclear structure protein in development — Scientists have long held theories about the importance of proteins called B-type lamins in the process of embryonic stem cells replicating and differentiating into different varieties…
— Pregnancy is a drag for bottlenose dolphins — Lumbering around during the final weeks before delivery is tough for any pregnant mum. Most females adjust their movements to compensate for the extreme physical changes that accompany…
New butterfly species identified in Yucatan peninsula
About 160,000 species of butterflies and moths are already known, but scientists believe that a similar number still remain undiscovered. Identification and characterisation of these species can be complicated by the fact that each species has an immature caterpillar and a mature butterfly form, as well as the reliance on the physical appearance for classification.
Now, though, researchers report that a type of DNA analysis called 'barcoding' may provide a powerful tool in this effort, according to a study published in the 16 November issue of the online journal PLoS ONE.
The researchers, led by Carmen Pozo of El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Mexico, focused on the Yucatan peninsula population of a particular family of butterflies called Nymphalidae.
Approximately 570 species of Nymphalidae have been reported in Mexico, and 121 of these occur in the Yucatan peninsula. Using DNA barcoding, which uses the sequence of a standard short gene segment to provide information about biodiversity, they found evidence for several previously undiscovered, so-called 'cryptic' species that now await characterisation.
They also found four cases where specimen had been misidentified based on the appearance; these erroneous classifications were corrected based on the DNA, highlighting the potential utility of this method.
Or subscribe for our Newsletter, a free e-mail publication. It is published practically every day.
Brainy worms: Evolution of the cerebral cortex
Tiny, new, pea-sized frog is Old World's smallest
Origins of multicellularity: All in the family
Developing zebrafish patchwork