Beyond a morphological paradox: Complicated phylogenetic relationships of the parrotbills (Paradoxornithidae, Aves)

[Display omitted] ► Most comprehensive phylogenetic frameworks of parrotbills in terms of taxa and gene sampling. ► Incongruent mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies caution against single marker-based phylogenetic inferences. ► Phylogenies help evaluate taxonomic hypotheses and outline numerous top...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 2011-10, Vol.61 (1), p.192-202
Main Authors: Yeung, Carol K.L., Lin, Rong-Chien, Lei, Fumin, Robson, Craig, Hung, Le Manh, Liang, Wei, Zhou, Fasheng, Han, Lingxian, Li, Shou-Hsien, Yang, Xiaojun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Animals
Base Sequence
birds
Birds - classification
Birds - genetics
body size
Cell Nucleus - genetics
Cladding
Coding
color
data collection
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Evolution
Evolution, Molecular
Genes
Genetic Variation
Loci
Mitochondria - genetics
mitochondrial DNA
Models, Genetic
monophyly
mtDNA
Nuclear markers
Paradoxes
Paradoxornithidae
paraphyly
Parrotbill
Passeriformes
Phylogeny
plumage
Segments
Sequence Analysis, DNA
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Summary:[Display omitted] ► Most comprehensive phylogenetic frameworks of parrotbills in terms of taxa and gene sampling. ► Incongruent mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies caution against single marker-based phylogenetic inferences. ► Phylogenies help evaluate taxonomic hypotheses and outline numerous topics for further evolutionary studies. The parrotbills (Paradoxornithidae, meaning “birds of paradox,” Aves) are a group of Old World passerines with perplexing taxonomic histories due to substantial morphological and ecological variation at various levels. In this study, phylogenetic relationships of the parrotbills were reconstructed based on sequences of two mitochondrial segments and three nuclear coding regions. Three major clades with characteristic body size and plumage coloration were found in both mtDNA and nuclear gene trees. However, mtDNA phylogeny suggested that the Paradoxornithidae is paraphyletic and relationships among three major parrotbill clades were poorly resolved. On the contrary, apparent and well-supported monophyletic relationships among the three major clades of Paradoxornithidae were revealed by concatenated nuclear dataset. Since paraphyly based on mtDNA data has commonly been found within avian taxa, the conflicting phylogenetic signal between mtDNA and nuclear loci revealed in this study indicates that results obtained from mtDNA dataset alone need to be evaluated with caution. Taxonomic implications of our phylogenetic findings are discussed. These phylogenies also point out areas for future investigation regarding the rapid diversification, morphological evolution and environmental adaptation of various parrotbill species or species complexes.
ISSN:1055-7903
1095-9513
DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.004