Mimicry refinement: Phenotypic variations tracking the local optimum

1. Müllerian mimicry between chemically defended preys is a textbook example of natural selection favouring phenotypic convergence onto a shared warning signal. Studies of mimicry have concentrated on deciphering the ecological and genetic underpinnings of dramatic switches in mimicry association, producing a well-known mosaic distribution of mimicry patterns across geography. However, little is known about the accuracy of resemblance between natural co-mimics when the local phenotypic optimum varies.
2. In this study, using analyses of wing shape, pattern and hue, we quantify multimodal phenotypic similarity between butterfly co-mimics sharing the so-called postman pattern in different localities with varying species composition.
3. We show that subtle but consistent variation between populations of the localised species, Heliconius timareta thelxinoe, enhance resemblance to the abundant co-mimics which drive the mimicry in each locality.
4. Those results suggest that rarer co-mimic...

1. 化学防御猎物间的缪勒拟态（Müllerian mimicry）是自然选择偏好表型趋同于共享警戒信号的经典范例。拟态研究聚焦于解析拟态关联显著转变的生态与遗传基础，从而揭示了拟态模式在地理上广为人知的镶嵌分布。然而，当局域表型最优值发生变化时，自然共拟态种间的相似精度仍知之甚少。
2. 本研究中，我们通过翅形、翅纹与翅色分析，量化了在物种组成不同的地区中，共享所谓“邮差模式”的蝴蝶共拟态种间的多模态表型相似性。
3. 我们发现，局域物种Heliconius timareta thelxinoe种群间存在的细微但一致的变异，增强了其与各地区主导拟态的优势共拟态种的相似性。
4. 这些结果表明，较稀有的共拟态种...