Kirchman (in press). Speciation of flightless rails on islands: a DNA-based phylogeny of the typical rails of the Pacific. Auk. [abstract]
Why does it seem strange, Melanie? Members of the 5 genera you named are all similar to Gallirallus rails, and 3 of the genera are monotypic. Several of the present members of Gallirallus were formerly classified in genera that are now obsolete, including the Weka (Ocydromus), New Caledonian Rail and Lord Howe Rail (Tricholimnas), and Buff-banded Rail, Guam Rail, and Wake Island Rail (Hypotaenidia).Is someone here who has this paper? It is somewhat strange to see that Aramidopsis, Eulabeornis, Habroptila, Lewinia, and Nesoclopeus are no more distinct from Gallirallus.
Kirchman (in press). Speciation of flightless rails on islands: a DNA-based phylogeny of the typical rails of the Pacific. Auk. [abstract]
Why does it seem strange, Melanie? Members of the 5 genera you named are all similar to Gallirallus rails, and 3 of the genera are monotypic. Several of the present members of Gallirallus were formerly classified in genera that are now obsolete, including the Weka (Ocydromus), New Caledonian Rail and Lord Howe Rail (Tricholimnas), and Buff-banded Rail, Guam Rail, and Wake Island Rail (Hypotaenidia).
All three of the extinct Chatham Islands rails were derived from a Gallirallus ancestor, but the smallest and largest were and still are placed in their own monotypic genera, Cabalus and Diaphorapteryx. It makes no sense.
Rick
Good question, Des, and one I've thought about for a long time to no certain conclusion, and not just concerning the generic limits of Gallirallus, but other genera as well. The point is, given the great disparity in size, color, and bill morphology within Gallirallus (compare the Weka with the extinct Tahiti Rail, G. pacificus), it's plausible that Habroptila and the other genera are part of the Gallirallus radiation.Surely it is a question of HOW similar. Habroptila skins look very different from Gallirallus. To what extent should we be distrusting morphological differences in favour of partial DNA analysis?
Des
The article is now available at Bioone.
No, apologies: it can be tested to some extent, actually--not with pectoralis, because the sequence that is in the BOLD database is not accessible; but I hadn't noticed two COI sequences of Gallirallus striatus, the sister species of pectoralis in Kirchman's analysis, that are now in GenBank but not in BOLD.I don't think that this can be further tested with publicly available data.