Butterfly with 46 chromosomes, like humans, found in Russia

A 20-year study has discovered a butterfly having 46 chromosomes, an unusual number for blue butterflies and exactly the same count as in humans. The species Polyommatus australorossicus was found in the Caucasus mountains in southern Russia by biologist Vladimir Lukhtanov. Lukhtanov and colleagues studied over a hundred blue butterfly species while sequencing DNA from all closely related species.

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