The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change
is a research museum of the Leibniz Association
Link to Leibniz Association
Metalmarks butterflies, Riodinidae, are one of the six butterfly families. Most of its 1300 species are Neotropical, however, a single monotypic genus inhabits the West Indies. The Caribbean Metalmark, Dianesia carteri, is restricted Cuba and the Bahamas where several isolated populations are known. A first approach using barcodes suggest that Dianesia may comprise more than one species. The project will sample several populations using high-throughput sequencing to compare them and reassess their taxonomic status.