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Trochilidae (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Richard Klim
- Start date
Richard Klim
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Peter Kovalik
Well-known member
Richard Klim
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Andean hummingbirds
Projecto-Garcia, Natarajan, Moriyama, Weber, Fago, Cheviron, Dudley, McGuire, Witt & Storz (in press). Repeated elevational transitions in hemoglobin function during the evolution of Andean hummingbirds. PNAS. [abstract] [supp info]
GrrlScientist, The Guardian, 13 Dec 2013: How do hummingbirds thrive in the Andes?
Projecto-Garcia, Natarajan, Moriyama, Weber, Fago, Cheviron, Dudley, McGuire, Witt & Storz (in press). Repeated elevational transitions in hemoglobin function during the evolution of Andean hummingbirds. PNAS. [abstract] [supp info]
GrrlScientist, The Guardian, 13 Dec 2013: How do hummingbirds thrive in the Andes?
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Richard Klim
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Richard Klim
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Richard Klim
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McGuire et al
McGuire, Witt, Remsen, Corl, Rabosky, Altshuler & Dudley (in press). Molecular phylogenetics and the diversification of hummingbirds. Curr Biol. [abstract]
Richard Klim
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McGuire et al
Nature News, 3 Apr 2014: Hummingbird diversity still booming.
UC Berkeley News Center, 3 Apr 2014: Hummingbird evolution soared after invading South America 22 million years ago.
Nature News, 3 Apr 2014: Hummingbird diversity still booming.
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I guess that making taxonomic recommendations at the genus level was beyond the scope of this paper, but looking at the phylogenetic trees in the supplementary material it looks like numerous changes would be in order. From a quick perusal, here are a few things that stand out:
- Marvellous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirablis) is embedded within the Eriocnemis pufflegs, with Blue-capped Puffleg (Eriocnemis glaucopoides) as its sister species.
- Brazilian Ruby (Clytolaema rubricauda) is embedded within the Heliodoxa brilliants.
- Bearded Mountaineer (Oreonympha nobilis) and Bearded Helmetcrest (Oxypogon) are embedded within the Chalcostigma thornbills
- The woodstars are all over the place with Slender-tailed Woodstar (Microstilbon burmeisteri) embedded within Chaetocercus and Calliphlox part of 2-3 different clades.
- Cynanthus, Chlorostilbon, and Cyanophaia are all part of one big clade and would presumably either all have to be lumped into one genus, or current genus boundaries would have to be re-arranged.
- Mexican Woodnymph (Thalurania ridgwayi) is embedded within a different clade from that of the other four Thaularina (which are monophyletic if ridgwayi is excluded). T. ridgway is sister to Eupherusa, a genus endemic to Mexico and Central America. The other Thaularina are sister to Chalybura (the plumleteers)
- Leucippus is also all over the place: L. fallax (Buffy Hummingbird) is sister to Scaly-breasted Hummingbird (Phaeochroa cuvierii), L. chlorocercus (Olive-spotted Hummingbird) is basal to a big clade that includes Amazilia, Trochilus, and several other genera, while the other two Leucippus are sisters.
- The genus Amazilia is also all over the place within the clade that's sister to Olive-spotted Hummingbird.
I'm sure I missed a few but it seems that several taxonomic revisions are in order. I'm also intrigued by the presence of a Colibri sp. sister to C. thalassinus (Green Violetear) in the phylogenetic trees.
- Marvellous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirablis) is embedded within the Eriocnemis pufflegs, with Blue-capped Puffleg (Eriocnemis glaucopoides) as its sister species.
- Brazilian Ruby (Clytolaema rubricauda) is embedded within the Heliodoxa brilliants.
- Bearded Mountaineer (Oreonympha nobilis) and Bearded Helmetcrest (Oxypogon) are embedded within the Chalcostigma thornbills
- The woodstars are all over the place with Slender-tailed Woodstar (Microstilbon burmeisteri) embedded within Chaetocercus and Calliphlox part of 2-3 different clades.
- Cynanthus, Chlorostilbon, and Cyanophaia are all part of one big clade and would presumably either all have to be lumped into one genus, or current genus boundaries would have to be re-arranged.
- Mexican Woodnymph (Thalurania ridgwayi) is embedded within a different clade from that of the other four Thaularina (which are monophyletic if ridgwayi is excluded). T. ridgway is sister to Eupherusa, a genus endemic to Mexico and Central America. The other Thaularina are sister to Chalybura (the plumleteers)
- Leucippus is also all over the place: L. fallax (Buffy Hummingbird) is sister to Scaly-breasted Hummingbird (Phaeochroa cuvierii), L. chlorocercus (Olive-spotted Hummingbird) is basal to a big clade that includes Amazilia, Trochilus, and several other genera, while the other two Leucippus are sisters.
- The genus Amazilia is also all over the place within the clade that's sister to Olive-spotted Hummingbird.
I'm sure I missed a few but it seems that several taxonomic revisions are in order. I'm also intrigued by the presence of a Colibri sp. sister to C. thalassinus (Green Violetear) in the phylogenetic trees.
thyoloalethe
Well-known member
Was the Booted Racket-tail Ocreatus underwoodii sampled? Back when there whisperings that the Spatuletail was related to the Pufflegs, I thought that perhaps it would turn out to be closest to Ocreatus, which is traditionally thought to be close to Eriocnemis. The racket tail feathers in both species might then be homologous structures. Looks like this isn't the case though.
I think its a pity really that a monotypic genus will probably be lost for one of the world's most unusual and distinctive avian species. That's science I guess. Do the individual gene trees all place Loddigesia in Eriocnemis?
If Loddigesia mirabilis ends up subsumed into Eriocnemis, then the Colourful Puffleg Eriocnemis mirabilis Meyer de Schauensee, 1967, will need a new name.
Liam
Yes, Booted Racket-tail was sampled and it was sister to the two species of Urosticte white-tips - the females are quite similar so I guess it's not all that surprising. Both Booted Racket-tail and Marvelous Spatuletail are part of what the authors call the 'Brilliants' clade, but within this clade there are two sub-clades, the pufflegs (Eriocnemis, Haplophaedia and now Loddigesia) and all the rest (including Ocreatus, Urosticte, Coeligena, Heliodoxa, Boissoneaua, Aglaeactis, etc.).
Both gene trees show the same relationships for Loddigesia, and are in fact quite similar overall.
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andrew147
Well-known member
I'm struggling with this one. The sister sp to Eriocnemis glaucopoides, is the outrageously different Loddigesia mirabilis and the very similar Eriocnemis mirabilis is not included.
Has human error definitely been ruled out?
[QUOTE
I'm struggling with this one. The sister sp to Eriocnemis glaucopoides, is the outrageously different Loddigesia mirabilis and the very similar Eriocnemis mirabilis is not included.
Has human error definitely been ruled out?[/QUOTE]
I think the only specimens of Eriocnemis mirabilis are the type series collected in 1967, so it's not surprising that it was not included in the analysis.
What I do find surprising is that out of all the species of Eriocnemis, Loddigesia would be sister to the most geographically distant one (E. glaucopoides is endemic to Bolivia and Argentina, while all the other species of Eriocnemis are found between Colombia and Peru).
I'm struggling with this one. The sister sp to Eriocnemis glaucopoides, is the outrageously different Loddigesia mirabilis and the very similar Eriocnemis mirabilis is not included.
Has human error definitely been ruled out?[/QUOTE]
I think the only specimens of Eriocnemis mirabilis are the type series collected in 1967, so it's not surprising that it was not included in the analysis.
What I do find surprising is that out of all the species of Eriocnemis, Loddigesia would be sister to the most geographically distant one (E. glaucopoides is endemic to Bolivia and Argentina, while all the other species of Eriocnemis are found between Colombia and Peru).
andrew147
Well-known member
Fair point Cajanuma but there are other anomalies.
For example, Campylopterus rufus appears in two disparate places.
In the first position, it is sister to C. excellens and both are placed outside Campylopterus.
In the second position, it is sister to C. hemileucurus and embedded within Campylopterus.
So - does the monospecific, morphologically uniform C. rufus actually consist of two cryptic species belonging to separate genera ...or should the results of this paper be regarded as tentative?
For example, Campylopterus rufus appears in two disparate places.
In the first position, it is sister to C. excellens and both are placed outside Campylopterus.
In the second position, it is sister to C. hemileucurus and embedded within Campylopterus.
So - does the monospecific, morphologically uniform C. rufus actually consist of two cryptic species belonging to separate genera ...or should the results of this paper be regarded as tentative?
Richard Klim
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Rufous Sabrewing
Both specimens of Campylopterus rufus (FMNH 434025/434026) were collected on the same date at the same location in El Salvador.
Good catch. On the face of it it would seem that the position of these two specimens on the trees can't possibly be right
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Grrlscientist in The Grauniad
http://www.theguardian.com/science/...entist-hummingbirds-evolution-phylogeny-andes
McM
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