Studying hybrid zones that form between morphologically cryptic taxa offers valuable insights into the mechanisms of cryptic speciation and the evolution of reproductive barriers. Although hybrid zones have long been the focus of evolutionary studies, the awareness of cryptic hybrid zones increased recently due to rapidly growing evidence of biological diversity lacking obvious phenotypic differentiation. The characterization...

The blue antelope or bluebuck ( Hippotragus leucophaeus ) is an extinct species of antelope that lived in South Africa until ca. 1799–1800. Disappearing only 34 years after it was described, it was the first large African mammal species to have become extinct in recent times. Therefore, current scientific knowledge of the blue antelope is limited to museum specimens. However, these are extremely rare and further complicated by...

Understanding the genetics of speciation and the processes that drive it is a central goal of evolutionary biology. Grasshoppers of the Chorthippus species group differ strongly in calling song (and corresponding female preferences) but are exceedingly similar in other characteristics such as morphology. Here, we performed a population genomic scan on three Chorthippus species ( Chorthippus biguttulus , C. mollis and C. brunne...