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Melitaea acentria

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Melitaea acentria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Melitaea
Species:
M. acentria
Binomial name
Melitaea acentria
Lukhtanov, 2017

Melitaea acentria is a butterfly was discovered in 2017[1] by evolutionary biologist-entomologist Vladimir Lukhtanov[2] over Mount Hermon ski resort, northern Israel.[3] When it was first seen in 2012 it was incorrectly believed that it belonged to the Persian fritillary (Melitaea persea) species[4] due to its similar appearance.  Once the internal anatomy and DNA was researched, this was discounted as it had the Acentria's fritillary DNA, different genitalia and a unique molecular signature. It is more than 1.5 million years old and is Israel’s first newly-discovered butterfly species in over a century.[5] Its natural habitat is northern Israel, Syria and Lebanon.[6] It is among a very few butterflies that has resulted from hybridisation between two other species in the past.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "New butterfly species discovered in Israel for the first time in 109 years". Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  2. ^ "This beautiful butterfly species took a million years to be discovered". From the Grapevine. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  3. ^ "New butterfly species discovered in Israel for the first time in 109 years". Pensoft blog. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  4. ^ "Israel Butterfly Discovery: New Insect Species Found At Ski Resort". International Business Times. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  5. ^ Lukhtanov, Vladimir A. (2017-05-05). "A new species of Melitaea from Israel, with notes on taxonomy, cytogenetics, phylogeography and interspecific hybridization in the Melitaea persea complex (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)". Comparative Cytogenetics. 11 (2): 325–357. doi:10.3897/CompCytogen.v11i2.12370. ISSN 1993-078X. PMC 5596984. PMID 28919968.
  6. ^ "New Species of Butterfly Discovered in Israel: Acentria's Fritillary | Biology | Sci-News.com". Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  7. ^ Lukhtanov, Vladimir A. (2017-05-05). "A new species of Melitaea from Israel, with notes on taxonomy, cytogenetics, phylogeography and interspecific hybridization in the Melitaea persea complex (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)". Comparative Cytogenetics. 11 (2): 325–357. doi:10.3897/CompCytogen.v11i2.12370. ISSN 1993-0771. PMC 5596984. PMID 28919968.