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Motacillidae (1 Viewer)

TiF Update January 28

Wagtails and Pipits: The Wagtails have been rearranged based on Drovetski et al. (2018) and Harris et al. (2018).

Based on Van Ells and Norambuena (2018), the New World Pipits have been rearranged. Futher, two species have been split and one has been lumped.

Peruvian Pipit, Anthus peruvianus, has been split from Yellowish Pipit, Anthus lutescens
Puna Pipit, Anthus brevirostris, has been split from Short-billed Pipit, Anthus furcatus.
South Georgia Pipit, Anthus antarcticus, has been lumped into Correndera Pipit, Anthus correndera due to very small DNA differences between them.
 
Pietersen, D. W., Mckechnie, A. E., Jansen, R., Little, I. T., & Bastos, A. D. S. (2018). Multi-locus phylogeny of African pipits and longclaws (Aves: Motacillidae) highlights taxonomic inconsistencies. Ibis. doi:10.1111/ibi.12683

Abstract:

The globally distributed avian family Motacillidae consists of 5–7 genera (Anthus, Dendronanthus, Tmetothylacus, Macronyx and Motacilla, and depending on the taxonomy followed, Amaurocichla and Madanga) and 66–68 recognised species, of which 32 species in four genera occur in sub‐Saharan Africa. The taxonomy of the Motacillidae has been contentious, with variable numbers of genera, species and subspecies proposed and some studies suggesting greater taxonomic diversity than what is currently (five genera and 67 species) recognised. Using one nuclear (Mb) and two mitochondrial (cyt b and CO1) gene regions amplified from DNA extracted from contemporary and museum specimens, we investigated the taxonomic status of 56 of the currently recognised motacillid species and present the most taxonomically complete and expanded phylogeny of this family to date. Our results suggest that the family comprises six clades broadly reflecting continental distributions: sub‐Saharan Africa (two clades), the New World (one clade), Palaearctic (one clade), a widespread large‐bodied Anthus clade, and a sixth widespread genus, Motacilla. Within the Afrotropical region, our phylogeny further supports recognition of Wood Pipit Anthus nyassae as a valid species, and the treatment of Long‐tailed Pipit A. longicaudatus and Kimberley Pipit A. pseudosimilis as junior subjective synonyms of Buffy Pipit A. vaalensis and African Pipit A. cinnamomeus, respectively. As the disjunct populations of Long‐billed Pipit A. similis in southern and East Africa are genetically distinct and geographically separated, we propose specific status for the southern African population under the earliest available name, Nicholson's Pipit A. nicholsoni. Further, as our analyses indicate that Yellow‐breasted Pipit A. chloris and Golden Pipit Tmetothylacus tenellus are both nested within the Macronyx longclaws, we propose transferring these species to the latter genus.
 
I'm surprised by the exclusion of Macronyx grimwoodi from the current genus

"Both the total molecular evidence and the museum cyt b analyses placed Grimwood’s Longclaw Macronyx grimwoodi as sister to the wagtails, albeit without support, although this is likely an artefact of only a single, short (224 nt) mitochondrial fragment being available."
 
Paul van Els Heraldo V. Norambuena Rampal S. Etienne. From pampa to puna: Biogeography and diversification of a group of Neotropical obligate grassland birds (Anthus: Motacillidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, First Published: 1 April 2019.

Abstract:

The evolution of Neotropical birds of open landscapes remains largely unstudied. We investigate the diversification and biogeography of a group of Neotropical obligate grassland birds (Anthus: Motacillidae). We use a multilocus phylogeny of 22 taxa of Anthus to test the hypothesis that these birds radiated contemporaneously with the development of grasslands in South America. We employ the R package DDD to analyze the dynamics of Anthus diversification across time in Neotropical grasslands, explicitly testing for shifts in dynamics associated with the Miocene development of grasslands, the putative Pleistocene expansion of arid lowland biomes, and Pleistocene sundering of Andean highland grasslands. A lineage‐through‐time plot revealed increases in the number of lineages, and DDD detected shifts to a higher clade‐level carrying capacity during the late Miocene, indicating an early burst of diversification associated with grassland colonization. However, we could not corroborate the shift using power analysis, probably reflecting the small number of tips in our tree. We found evidence of a divergence at ~1 Mya between northern and southern Amazonian populations of Anthus lutescens, countering Haffer's idea of Pleistocene expansion of open biomes in the Amazon Basin. We used BioGeoBears to investigate ancestral areas and directionality of colonization of Neotropical grasslands. Members of the genus diversified into, out of, and within the Andes, within‐Andean diversification being mostly Pleistocene in origin.

[pdf]
 
Semenov, G.A., E. Linck, E.D. Enbody, R.B. Harris, D.R. Khaydarov, P. Alström, L. Andersson, and S.A. Taylor (2021)
Asymmetric introgression reveals the genetic architecture of a plumage trait
Nature Communications 12: 1019
doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21340-y
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21340-y

Genome-wide variation in introgression rates across hybrid zones offers a powerful opportunity for studying population differentiation. One poorly understood pattern of introgression is the geographic displacement of a trait implicated in lineage divergence from genome-wide population boundaries. While difficult to interpret, this pattern can facilitate the dissection of trait genetic architecture because traits become uncoupled from their ancestral genomic background. We studied an example of trait displacement generated by the introgression of head plumage coloration from personata to alba subspecies of the white wagtail. A previous study of their hybrid zone in Siberia revealed that the geographic transition in this sexual signal that mediates assortative mating was offset from other traits and genetic markers. Here we show that head plumage is associated with two small genetic regions. Despite having a simple genetic architecture, head plumage inheritance is consistent with partial dominance and epistasis, which could contribute to its asymmetric introgression.
 
Hi folks. Some time ago I recall seeing a reference to Carpospiza being discovered to be a basal motacillid. This may be related to some lynx editions publication advert i read last year possibly. I can't be sure. Has anyone else come across this information?
 
In the lynx book it is listed as a basal motacillid with a reference to Oliveiros et al 2019, Earth History and the Passerine Superradiation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 116, 7916-7925.
 

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