A study published last week in the Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera could provide some clues connecting a rare hybrid butterly and climate change.
Researchers who initiated the study discovered a possibly new butterfly species that is said to have evolved from two different species in Alaska. Furthermore, this new butterfly could provide clues about the pace of climate change.
The new Alaskan butterfly species, Tanana Arctic, or Oeneis tanana, is said to be the results of the mating of two different butterfly species before the last ice age, the study states. These species are the Chryxus Arctic and the White-veined Arctic.
The butterfly is not only rare but also happens to be an important piece as it could provide information about North American Arctic's geological history. To add, the Washington Post reported that new Alsakan butterfly species can also serve as a "sort of canary in the coalmine when it comes to current and future environmental changes" as butterflies are considered to be environmental indicators, including clues about climate change.
"This butterfly has apparently lived in the Tanana River valley for so long that if it ever moves out, we'll be able to say 'Wow, there are some changes happening,'" University of Florida lepidopterist Andrew Warren said in a release. "This is a region where the permafrost is already melting and the climate is changing."
The Tanana Arctic can be found in the Tanana-Yukon River Basin's aspen and spruce forests. This area also happens to be one of the areas that were not glaciated during the last ice age that took place about 14,000 to 28,000 years ago. Furthermore, the study states that these basins "formed the southeastern limits of Beringia, an area considered a refuge for plant and animal life during the Ice Age and may have once formed a landbridge connecting Asia and Alaska."
Discovering the Tanana Arctic was not an overnight thing for the researchers. In fact, this species has eluded researchers for many years due to the butterfly's striking similarity with Chryxus Arctic. The confirmation about the new species only happened "when Warren was examining the butterflies at the Florida Museum of Natural History and noticed distinctions between them."
The Tanana Arctic, when compared to the Chryxus Arctic, is larger and darker. Other distinctions of this new species include its unique DNA sequence and white specks that are found underneath its penny-colored wings.
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