Stasipatric speciation: Resurrecting a system to bury a hypothesis?

Abstract

The process of speciation remains a fundamental topic in evolutionary biology. Numerous models of speciation have been proposed and they are as diverse and colourful as the scientists who conceived them (Coyne and Orr 2004). One of the more controversial theories has been the 'stasipatric speciation' model, proposed by the pioneering and influential cytogeneticist Michael White and his co-workers (White 1968; White et al. 1967). This is one of a number of speciation models whereby chromosomal rearrangements drive the speciation process. The inspiration for the theory of stasipatric speciation came from White's karyotypic analyses of a group of Australian grasshoppers of the genus Vandiemenel..