Hybrid Skipper Butterfly Characterized by Facies, Genitalia, and Genomes (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Pyrginae)

Abstract. The genitalia of an unusually pale and uniform male of Gesta (Erynnides) from central Texas are intermediate between those of Gesta horatius and Gesta tristis tatius, owing to interspecific hybridization. These sister species are widely distributed (mainly from the eastern United States and from the southwestern United States to Colombia, respectively) and barely sympatric. Four different methods of analyzing data from whole genome sequencing of 7 specimens of each parental species, 6 specimens of related species G. meridianus (as an outgroup), and the specimen with the peculiar genitalia show that it is an F1 hybrid whose mother is G. t. tatius. The superficial appearance of this hybrid does not suggest either parent.

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