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My taxonomic predictions (1 Viewer)

I've recently started my own checklist project. Just to throw my two cents in (Since Jim is curious), here is what I have so far for Paleognath and ducks and kin. I'm more conservative than Jim as you can see, and prefer not to create new genera unless there are deep divergences or paraphyly to reconcile. Comments are welcome. Also, still not sure whether Oxyurinae or Erasmaturinae is more appropriate.

Struthioniformes -
Struthionidae
- Struthio

Rheiformes -
Rheidae
- Rhea

Casuariiformes - Casuariidae - Casuariinae -
Dromaiini
- Dromaius
Casuariini - Casuarius

Aepyornithiformes -
Aepyornithidae
- Mullerornis, Aeypyornis

Apterygiformes -
Apterygidae
- Apteryx

Dinornithiformes -
Dinornithidae
- Megalopteryx, Dinornis, Anomalopteryx, Emeus, Euryapteryx, Pachyornis

Tinamiformes - Tinamidae -
Nothurinae
- Eudromia, Tinamotis, Nothura, Taoniscus, Rhynchotus
Tinaminae - Nothocercus, Tinamus, Crypturellus

Anhimiformes -
Anhimidae
- Anhima, Chauna

Anseriformes -
Anserantidae
- Anseranas

Dendrocygnidae - Thalassornis, Dendrocygna

Anatidae -
Plectropterinae - Plectropterus
Biziurinae - Biziura
Nettapodinae - Nettapus
Erasmaturinae - Heteronetta, Nomonyx, Oxyura, Talpanas

Anserinae -
Stictonettini - Malacorhynchus, Stictonetta
Cereopseini - Cereopsis, Coscoroba, Cnemiornis
Cygnini - Cygnus
Anserini - Branta, Anser

Anatinae -
Cairinini
- Cairina, Aix
Tadornini - Salvadorina, Merganetta, Neochen, Chloephaga, Radjah, Alopochen, Tadorna
Mergini - Clangula, Histrionicus, Camptorhynchus, Polysticta, Somateria, Melanitta, Bucephala, Mergellus, Mergus
Callonettini - Callonetta
Aythyini - Chenonetta, Sarkidiornis, Hymenolaimus, Pteronetta, Cyanochen, Marmaronetta, Asarcornis, Netta, Metopiana, Phaeoaythia, Aythya
Chendytini - Chendytes
Anatini - Tachyeres, Lophonetta, Speculanas, Amazonetta, Sibirionetta, Spatula, Mareca, Anas
 
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Missing the rest of the moa-nalos, should be in or close to Anatini (see here). Talpanas should be there as well, no? Or are there new studies placing it with the stifftails?
 
Missing the rest of the moa-nalos, should be in or close to Anatini (see here). Talpanas should be there as well, no? Or are there new studies placing it with the stifftails?
Moa-nalo had provisionally been considered weird Anas based on a reference of them being related to Pacific Black Ducks, but further examination of Sorenson does show them instead as the earliest diverging Anatini. That said Sorenson's phylogeny looks a bit off to me and I wouldn't be surprised if they were just weird Anas.

Talpanas has been linked to the stifftails which it shares several traits with but I don't think there are any good systematic analyses that really pin down the species.
 
Quickly, I don't know if Nettapus is really monophyletic

I put Salvadorina here

And I put Plectropterus here
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think any of these ducks have been placed in any sort of published molecule-based phylogenetic analysis recently, correct?

I kind of get why that would be the case for Salvadorina, but you would think Aussie scientists would have easy access to Nettapus DNA and South African researchers would have easy access to Plectropterus. Seems those studies would be low-hanging fruit.
 
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Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think any of these ducks have been placed in any sort of published molecule-based phylogenetic analysis recently, correct?

I kind of get why that would be the case for Salvadorina, but you would think Aussie scientists would have easy access to Nettapus DNA and South African researchers would have easy access to Salvadorina. Seems those studies would be low-hanging fruit.
I had seen a figure that showed a polyphyletic Nettapus but I can't find it anymore. Same for the other
 
I kind of get why that would be the case for Salvadorina, but you would think Aussie scientists would have easy access to Nettapus DNA and South African researchers would have easy access to Plectropterus. Seems those studies would be low-hanging fruit.

Using a published hemoglobin sequence, I recovered Plectropterus as sister to Pteronetta, in an undetermined position within Anatinae. Pteronetta seems to be an Aythyini as per other publications, based on other genes. This was nearly a decade ago, but this sequence remains the only one published for Plectropterus, so far as I can find right now.


The monophyly of Nettapus is supported by hemoglobin sequences (see the same tree attached in the 2014 post linked above), and also by partial cytb sequences (see attached BLAST tree -- NB : GenBank currently has hemoglobin sequences for the three species of Nettapus + a partial cytb (307 bp) for N. coromandelianus and N. pulchellus + a complete genome assembly for N. auritus; I used BLAST to identify the sequence homologous to one of the two cytb sequences in the genome assembly, which allowed me tor generate a tree with the three species included.)
(Jimmy, ain't you mixing Nettapus and Netta ?)
 

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Using a published haemoglobin sequence, I recovered Plectropterus as sister to Pteronetta, in an undetermined position within Anatinae. Pteronetta seems to be an Aythyini as per other publications, based on other genes. This was nearly a decade ago, but this sequence remains the only one published for Plectropterus, so far as I can find right now.


The monophyly of Nettapus is supported by haemoglobin sequences (see the same tree attached in the 2014 post linked above), and also by partial cytb sequences (see attached BLAST tree -- NB : GenBank currently has haemoglobin sequences for the three species of Nettapus + a partial cytb (307 bp) for N. coromandelianus and N. pulchellus + a complete genome assembly for N. auritus; I used BLAST to identify the sequence homologous to one of the two cytb sequences in the genome assembly, which allowed me tor generate a tree with the three species included.)
(Jimmy, ain't you mixing Nettapus and Netta ?)
Ok, the paper is Eo & al., 2009. A phylogenetic supertree of the fowls (Galloanserae, Aves)
 

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