Pereira & Baker 2005 move the Tattlers from Heteroscelus back into the
genus Tringa, (Grey-tailed - Tringa brevipes and Wandering - Tringa
incana).
The Condor
Volume 107, No. 3
MULTIPLE GENE EVIDENCE FOR PARALLEL EVOLUTION AND RETENTION OF
ANCESTRAL MORPHOLOGICAL STATES IN THE SHANKS
(CHARADRIIFORMES: SCOLOPACIDAE)
SÉRGIO LUIZ PEREIRA AND ALLAN J. BAKER
e-mail:
Abstract. Because systematic studies based on morphology have failed to fully
resolve phylogenetic relationships of shanks (Charadriiformes:
Scolopacidae), we obtained mitochondrial DNA (6349 bp) and nuclear DNA
(1315 bp) sequences from 15 taxa. Using maximum parsimony and Bayesian
analysis we show that Catoptrophorus and Heteroscelus are embedded
within Tringa, and thus these genera should be merged in Tringa.
Phylogenetic analyses of 18 morphological characters resulted in a
partly resolved tree, so we mapped them on the molecular phylogeny and
reconstructed ancestral states by maximum likelihood. Twelve of
the morphological characters are homoplastic or plesiomorphic, and only six are
phylogenetically informative, placing Xenus and Actitis outside the
remaining genera. The bright yellow and red leg coloration of
yellowlegs and redshanks are, respectively, a retained ancestral state
and a parallel acquisition. Using a semi-parametric
penalized-likelihood approach to correct for rate variation among
lineages we estimated that speciation occurred in the Early Miocene-
Pliocene.
Sounds pretty convincing (although the Willet is a strange Tringa to
me). Is anyone aware of any dissenting view to this taxonomy?
Cheers
--
Philip Griffin
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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