Summary

Drosophila sp. cf. jambulina is a member of the melanogaster species group (montium subgroup) within the Sophophora subgenus.

The Australian species D. sp. cf. jambulina is very similar to D. jambulina, which is apparently endemic to India. Drosophila sp. cf. jambulina is considered to be an additional species in the montium species group. It has been found between Cooktown (Queensland) and Brunswick Heads (New South Wales). Drosophila sp. cf. jambulina is a generalist species and is able to utilize resources in various forest and urban habitats. There is evidence that it is a recent invader that is expanding its range. It can often be collected from the fringes of tropical rainforests, but it rarely penetrates deep into undisturbed tropical rainforest.

Whereas D. jambulina has been used as a model organism in a few Indian studies, little is known about D. sp. cf. jambulina in Australia.

The genome of this species is in the process of being sequenced as part of the "Adaptation to climate change research project", which is funded by a Science & Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF) Research grant.

Related entries

Publication Citations

• Schiffer, Michele, and McEvey, Shane F., 'Drosophila bunnanda - a new species from northern Australia with notes on other Australian members of the montium subgroup (Diptera: Drosophilidae)', Zootaxa, no. 1333, 2006, pp. 1-23. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2006f/z01333p023f.pdf. Details