When Harmonia axyridis larvae were subjected to amputation of a foreleg in the fourth instar, 83% survived and, of these, 75% regenerated the leg during pupation. Regenerators pupated at heavier weights than controls (unoperated) or non-regenerators, and spent longer in pupation. Regenerated males were preferred by females in choice tests and produced more viable progeny than control males. Unregenerated males were less preferred by females, copulated for shorter periods than control males, and reduced female fecundity. Amputation diminished beneficial paternal effects, whether males regenerated or not, resulting in progeny with slower development and smaller adult body mass relative to control paternity. Progeny of unregenerated males had lower survival and body mass, whether male or female, confirming that regeneration was an honest signal of mate quality. When offspring had a foreleg amputated, a regenerated paternity yielded higher survival than control paternity, but similar rates of regeneration, whereas an unregenerated paternity yielded lower rates of survival and leg regeneration than control paternity. Regenerating beetles were twice as likely to be melanic as non-regenerating or control beetles, suggesting pleiotropic effects of melanism on processes involved in regeneration. This is the first report of complete limb regeneration by a holometabolous insect in the pupal stage, and the first example of sexual selection for regenerative capacity.

Here we report the second and third known specimens of Cephalopholis fulva with partial melanic coloration, photographed at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Camamu Bay, south-western Atlantic. While the species exhibits a wide range of colorations, the melanic pattern is an aberration only recently reported. Since C. fulva is common within its area of distribution and is of importance to fisheries, increasing records of melanism can either result from higher frequency than previously thought or, alternatively, that this condition is becoming more common.

In the present study the evolutionary relationships among Cordylusniger–oelofseni–cordylus are investigated using molecular sequence data to: (1) estimate the divergence within this group; (2) date the origin of melanism in the clade and to evaluate possible palaeoecological events responsible for its evolution; (3) examine the systematic relationships among the three isolated populations of C. oelofseni that were previously shown to be polyphyletic using allozyme data. The recovered topology for the combined sequence data (16S and NADH dehydrogenase component 2 (ND2)) among C. niger–oelofseni–cordylus suggests that melanism evolved only once in the clade. The application of a molecular clock to the data demonstrates that melanism evolved during the Miocene epoch, 17–15 million years ago. We believe that the development of a cold-water current and upwelling system along the south-west coast of Africa during this epoch was instrumental in the evolution of melanism in this lizard clade and possibly also in other ectotherm clades with melanistic forms occurring in the area. The results show that C. oelofseni, as presently construed, is composed of three distinct evolutionary lineages, with no shared haplotypes present and marked sequence divergence. Two of the three lineages represent undescribed species. Cordylus cordylus is composed of two distinct clades, a montane clade and a coastal lowland clade. Cladogenic activity in mountain areas of the Western Cape in South Africa has been particularly pronounced and the systematic diversity of many taxa may have been underestimated.