Data from: Phylogeography of Heliconius cydno and its closest relatives: disentangling their origin and diversification

The origins of phenotypic variation within mimetic Heliconius butterflies
have long fascinated biologists and naturalists. However, the evolutionary
processes that have generated this extraordinary diversity remain
puzzling. Here we examine intraspecific variation across Heliconius cydno
diversification and compare this variation to that within the closely
related H. melpomene and H. timareta radiations. Our data, which consist
of both mtDNA and genome scan from nearly 2250 AFLP loci, reveal a complex
history of differentiation and admixture at different geographic scales.
Both mtDNA and AFLP phylogenies suggest that H. timareta and H. cydno are
probably geographic extremes of the same radiation that likely diverged
from H. melpomene during the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary. MtDNA suggest
that this radiation originated in Central America or the Northwestern
region of South America, with a subsequent colonization of the eastern and
western slopes of the Andes. Our genome-scan data indicate significant
admixture among sympatric H. cydno/H.timareta and H. melpomene populations
across the extensive geographic ranges of the two radiations. Within H.
cydno, both mtDNA and AFLP data indicate significant population structure
at local scales, with strong genetic differences even among adjacent H.
cydno color pattern races. These genetic patterns highlight the importance
of past geoclimatic events, intraspecific gene flow, and local population
differentiation in the origin and establishment of new adaptive forms.