0000000000248657
AUTHOR
Yue-hua Sun
Improved sampling at the subspecies level solves a taxonomic dilemma – A case study of two enigmatic Chinese tit species (Aves, Passeriformes, Paridae, Poecile)
Abstract A recent full species-level phylogeny of tits, titmice and chickadees (Paridae) has placed the Chinese endemic black-bibbed tit (Poecile hypermelaenus) as the sister to the Palearctic willow tit (P. montanus). Because this sister-group relationship is in striking disagreement with the traditional affiliation of P. hypermelaenus close to the marsh tit (P. palustris) we tested this phylogenetic hypothesis in a multi-locus analysis with an extended taxon sampling including sixteen subspecies of willow tits and marsh tits. As a taxonomic reference we included type specimens in our analysis. The molecular genetic study was complemented with an analysis of biometric data obtained from mu…
The phylogenetic relationships of Przevalski's FinchUrocynchramus pylzowi, the most ancient Tibetan endemic passerine known to date
Competing systematic hypotheses have placed the Tibetan endemic Przevalski's Finch Urocynchramus pylzowi either with the Old World buntings (Emberizidae) or with the cardueline finches (Fringillidae, Carduelinae). Recent studies based on limited genetic evidence instead suggest an isolated position within Passeroidea and advocate a separate family, Urocynchramidae, as had been suggested much earlier on the grounds of morphology. We provide a time-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny for Passeroidea including Przevalski's Finch based on three mitochondrial markers and three nuclear introns that placed U. pylzowi in a clade together with Estrildidae, Viduidae and Ploceidae. A sister group relatio…
Phylogeny of long-tailed tits and allies inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers (Aves: Passeriformes, Aegithalidae)
Abstract In this paper we provide a molecular phylogeny based on three mitochondrial and three nuclear markers for all long-tailed tit species of the genus Aegithalos including several doubtful subspecies (17 taxa) plus three close allies of SE Asian Leptopoecile and North American Psaltriparus . Genus Aegithalos is divided into three major clades, two of them showing only minor differentiation. Separation of two mitchondrial haploytpe clusters in the N Palearctic Long-tailed Tit, Ae. caudatus , was dated back to the Late Pleistocene, however, descendants from both lineages underwent a rapid post-Pleistocene range expansion and largely mixed over the entire distribution area. The Chinese po…
Molecular phylogeny of treecreepers (Certhia) detects hidden diversity†
We sequenced a part of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene from the seven treecreeper species, including 18 subspecies, to reconstruct the phylogeny of the genus Certhia. Species status of all seven species could be affirmed. Certhia discolor, C. himalayana, C. nipalensis, and C. tianquanensis, the species with relatively small distribution ranges in southeast Asia and simple territorial song, are found at the base of all phylogenetic trees, although without good support. A comparatively recent sister species of C. tianquanensis is C. nipalensis, replacing C. discolor as closest relative. Certhia familiaris, C. brachydactyla and C. americana form a derived set of species (again only weak su…
Certhia tianquanensis Li, a treecreeper with relict distribution in Sichuan, China
Certhia tianquanensis Li, 1995, is characterised as a distinct species and is combined withC. discolor in the superspeciesC. [discolor]. This probably relict species occupies an extremely small range, and has so far been found at only four sites in western Sichuan, China. It is characterised by a long tail (likeC. discolor), an extremely short bill (similar toC. nipalensis), the patterning on the underside, with white chin and throat and beige chest and abdomen (likeC. himalayana), a striking voice (clearly different fromC. discolor and all otherCerthia species), and a large genetic distance fromC. d. discolor in the cytochrome-b gene. Unlike its closest relativeC. discolor, C. tianquanensi…
Acoustic differentiation reflects mitochondrial lineages in Blyth's leaf warbler and white-tailed leaf warbler complexes (Aves: Phylloscopus reguloides, Phylloscopus davisoni)
The present study evaluated the degree of differentiation between closely-related species of Blyth's leaf warbler complex (Phylloscopus reguloides s.l.) and white-tailed leaf warbler complex (Phylloscopus davisoni s.l.) by molecular (cytochrome b and 16S rRNA) and bioacoustic markers (sonagraphic analysis of songs). Molecular phylogenetic results corroborate the recently suggested splittings of the two former taxa into three and two species, respectively. By contrast to previous opinion, differentiation of territorial songs parallels the genetic diversification in both groups. In the P. reguloides group, all recently established species can be distinguished by a characteristic song pattern.…
“Into and Out of” the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and the Himalayas: Centers of origin and diversification across five clades of Eurasian montane and alpine passerine birds
Abstract Encompassing some of the major hotspots of biodiversity on Earth, large mountain systems have long held the attention of evolutionary biologists. The region of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is considered a biogeographic source for multiple colonization events into adjacent areas including the northern Palearctic. The faunal exchange between the QTP and adjacent regions could thus represent a one‐way street (“out of” the QTP). However, immigration into the QTP region has so far received only little attention, despite its potential to shape faunal and floral communities of the QTP. In this study, we investigated centers of origin and dispersal routes between the QTP, its forested m…
Complete phylogeny and historical biogeography of true rosefinches (Aves:Carpodacus)
True rosefinches (Aves: Carpodacus) are restricted to Eurasia, and 19 out of 25 species occur in the Sino-Himalayas, making this the likely centre of origin. To test this hypothesis, suggested species splits had to be evaluated and potential further cryptic diversity unravelled. A taxon-complete dated molecular phylogeny was reconstructed using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods. Maximum-parsimony and likelihood approaches were applied to deduce ancestral areas. Rosefinches, including the widespread Carpodacus erythrinus (Pallas, 1770), originated in south-west China (and the Himalayas) 14 Mya, and gave rise to a smaller clade consisting of C. erythrinus, Haematospiza sipahi (Hodgson, …
Evolutionary history of treecreeper vocalisations (Aves: Certhia)☆
AbstractSince the vocalisations of passerine birds are in general a good means to separate taxa when external morphological differences are few, song and call recordings of 33 treecreeper (Certhia) taxa were sonagraphed and their parameters analysed. The vocalisations show low intra-individual and intra-population variation. Phylogenetic evolutionary units at the population level were delimited by time, frequency and syntax parameters by means of principal-component and discriminant analyses. Traits of territorial song were traced on a phylogenetic tree based on cytochrome b sequences, and a mean acoustic character difference was calculated. All presently recognised nine species could be di…
Horizontal and elevational phylogeographic patterns of Himalayan and Southeast Asian forest passerines (Aves: Passeriformes)
Aim Zoogeographic patterns in the Himalayas and their neighbouring Southeast Asian mountain ranges include elevational parapatry and ecological segregation, particularly among passerine bird species. We estimate timings of lineage splits among close relatives from the north Palaearctic, the Sino-Himalayan mountain forests and from adjacent Southeast Asia. We also compare phylogeographic affinities and timing of radiation among members of avian communities from different elevational belts. Location East Asia. Methods We reconstructed molecular phylogenies based on a mitochondrial marker (cytochrome b) and multilocus data sets for seven passerine groups: Aegithalidae, Certhiidae (Certhia),…