Molecular systematics and plumage coloration evolution of an enigmatic babbler (Pomatorhinus ruficollis) in East Asia.
The streak-breasted scimitar babbler, Pomatorhinus ruficollis, is a polytypic and taxonomically enigmatic babbler common in southern, eastern, and southeastern Asia. To infer the phylogeny of the P. ruficollis, we examined the sequences of two complete mitochondrial genes (2184 bp in total) from fourteen of the fifteen known subspecies, and an additional five nuclear genes (2657 bp in total) from ten subspecies. The mitochondrial phylogeny indicates four major clades with large geographical identity in P. ruficollis and paraphyly of the P. ruficollis species complex, with the inclusion of the olivaceus group of congeneric P. schisticeps. Together with their interbreeding in northern Indochina, we propose to lump this group into P. ruficollis. Analysis of both multilocus networks and species-tree inference recovered poor phylogenetic structure among mainland/ Hainan subspecies and exclusive groupings of the Taiwanese subspecies, consistent with the recent taxonomic revision of its species status. Our analyses also suggest strong incongruence between the morphological-based classification and molecular systematics, implying the strength of multilocus data for taxonomy.
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: dongfeng@mail.kiz.ac.cn.
Feng
F
Dong
Shou-Hsien
SH
Li
Fa-Sheng
FS
Zou
Fu-Min
FM
Lei
Wei
W
Liang
Jun-Xing
JX
Yang
Xiao-Jun
XJ
Yang
D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D046109:Passeriformes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
Mitochondrial genes; Nuclear genes; Taxonomic revision