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Abstract
A variety of molecular markers have consistently shown that little gene flow occurs among the geographically isolated populations of the cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis Patterson and Crow of southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico. The molecular studies support previous subspecies designations of D. mojavensis (D. m. mojavensis from the Mojave Desert and D. m. baja from the Baja California peninsula) and, in addition, suggest that two additional subspecies should be recognized (D. m. sonorensis from Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico to southern Arizona and D. m. wrigleyi from Santa Catalina Island, California). Here we review evidence from studies on population genetics, ecology and behaviour that supports the subspecies assignments in D. mojavensis, and provide descriptions of D. m. sonorensis and D. m. wrigleyi. We also provide redescriptions of D. m. mojavensis and D. m. baja. Morphologically, the four subspecies are similar in external appearance, but showed differences in the male genitalia.
Acknowledgements
We thank R. Brusca, E. Fisher, L. Matzkin, C.L. Ross and T. Watts for their help and critical comments. We also thank the Catalina Island Nature Conservancy for granting permission to collect on Santa Catalina Island and for providing logistical support. L.K. Reed was supported by a grant from the Interdisciplinary Research Training Group on Plant‐Insect Interactions (DBI‐9602249). Additional support was provided by grants from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT; 500100‐5‐3614N) and the National Science Foundation (INT‐9402161 and DEB‐9510645). We dedicate this paper to the memory of Dr William B. Heed for his many contributions to our understanding of the ecology and evolutionary biology of cactophilic Drosophila.