Columbiformes raw sequence reads
In the Caribbean no other living species of dove (Columbiformes) has more nebulous taxonomic affinities than the Cuban endemic Blue-headed Quail-dove, Starnoenas cyanocephala. This endangered species has been behaviorally and phenotypically linked to Australasian species or Western Hemisphere quail-dove species. To complement the Columibidae sampling of Boyd et al. 2022 we directly sampled and sequenced the following species: UF 46675 Goura victoria, UF 46091 Oena capensis, UF 42971 Gymnophaps albertisii, UF 46663 Trugon terrestris, and UF8407 Starnoenas cyanocephala. Nuclear exome data indicate that Starnoenas is sister to all of the Columbinae and represents a long branch that diverged from sister taxa in the Cenozoic. Starnoenas is an evolutionary and biogeographic relict that has been long persecuted that deserves significant conservation attention.