title: Phylogeography, inter-specific limits and diversification of Turdus ignobilis (Aves: Turdidae).
abstract: Turdus ignobilis is a widely distributed thrush species throughout northern South America and the Amazon, inhabiting a diverse set of habitats ranging from floodplain forests, white sand "campinas", to highland forests (Andes and Tepuis). There are currently six known subspecies of T. ignobilis, which vary extensively phenotypically and also ecologically, but whose interspecific limits and evolutionary history have never been investigated before. In this study, we used molecular data and plumage characters to review the taxonomy and uncover the evolutionary relationships of the six T. ignobilis subspecies described to date. We estimated gene and species trees based on both mitochondrial (ND2 and COI) and nuclear (TGFB2 and G3PDH) genes, which recovered, with high statistical support, the polyphyly of Turdus ignobilis, as currently defined. Therefore, based on our results, we propose a new taxonomic treatment that splits T. ignobilis into at least three separate species based on both molecular data and plumage characters. Each newly recognized species inhabit a distinct habitat type, with "true" T. ignobilis occurring in highland habitats of the Tepuis and the Andes, while T. arthuri and T. debilis are tied to "white-sand forest" and várzea floodplain forests in lowland Amazonia, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Curso de Pós-Graduação de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará/Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral, n° 1901, Caixa Postal 399, Terra Firme, CEP 66040-170 Belém, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pablo Vieira
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Cerqueira
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Ecologia e Zoologia de Vertebrados, Av. Augusto Correia, n° 1, CEP 66075-110 Belém, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos Pérsio Dantas
authors.initials: MPD
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Coordenação de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Caixa Postal 399, CEP 66040-170 Belém, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: aleixo@museu-goeldi.br.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aleixo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005241:Feathers / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D065928:Forests; D050259:Genes, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D020308:Songbirds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D013020:South America; D053781:Transforming Growth Factor beta2 / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D053781:Transforming Growth Factor beta2
keywords: Coalescent analyses; Neotropics; Taxonomy; Turdus nigriceps; Turdus nudigenis; Turdus subalaris