The categorization of naturally occurring inversions in
Drosophila melanogaster made by Mettler et al.(1977) was re-examined through compilation of recent data from the world-wide investigations. Categorization was changed into 5 classes by adding a new class:
Common cosmopolitan, Rare cosmopolitan, Quasi cosmopolitan, Endemic and Unique. Modifications were also proposed: (1) The
Rare cosmopolitans were limited to the 3 inversions,
In(3L)M, In(3R)C and
In(3R)Mo, instead of 8 inversions originally included. (2) Ambiguity between
Endemic and
Unique was noted and discussed. Data were presented to show that repeated surveys of the usual scale in a natural population indeed detected
Endemic inversions which otherwise would have been classified as
Unique inversions. More recent data on Japanese natural populations were finally presented. The
Common cosmopolitans but not the
Rare and
Quasi cosmopolitans clearly showed high frequencies in the south.
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