Abstract:
Traditional classification of many animals, including birds, has been highly dependent on external morphological characters like plumage coloration. However, both bioacoustics and genetic or genomic data have revolutionized our understanding of the relationships of certain lineages and led to sweeping taxonomic re-organizations. In this study, we present a case of erroneous delimitation of genus boundaries in the species-rich flycatcher subfamily Niltavinae. Genera within this subfamily have historically been delineated based on blue versus brown male body plumage until recent studies based on a few mitochondrial and nuclear loci unearthed several cases of generic misclassification. Here we use extensive bioacoustic data from 43 species and genomic data from 28 species for a fundamental reclassification of species in the Niltavinae. Our study reveals that song is an important trait to classify these birds even at the genus level, whereas plumage traits exhibit ample convergence and have led to numerous historic misattributions. Our taxonomic re-organization leads to new biogeographic limits of major genera, such that the genus Cyornis now only extends as far east as the islands of Sulawesi, Sula, and Banggai, whereas Eumyias is redefined to extend far beyond Wallace\'s Line to the islands of Seram and Timor. Our conclusions advise against an over-reliance on morphological traits and underscore the importance of integrative datasets.
摘要:
许多动物的传统分类,包括鸟类,高度依赖于外部形态特征,如羽毛颜色。然而,生物声学和遗传或基因组数据都彻底改变了我们对某些谱系关系的理解,并导致了全面的分类重组。在这项研究中,我们介绍了一个在物种丰富的捕蝇亚科Niltavinae中错误地划定属边界的案例。历史上,该亚科中的属是根据蓝色和棕色男性身体羽毛划定的,直到最近基于一些线粒体和核基因座的研究发现了几例通用分类错误。在这里,我们使用来自43个物种的广泛生物声学数据和来自28个物种的基因组数据对Niltavinae中的物种进行了基本重新分类。我们的研究表明,即使在属级别上,歌曲也是对这些鸟类进行分类的重要特征,而羽毛性状表现出充分的收敛性,并导致了许多历史性的错误归因。我们的分类学重组导致了主要属的新生物地理限制,这样,Cyornis属现在只能向东延伸到苏拉威西岛,秀拉,还有Banggai,而Eumyias被重新定义为远远超出华莱士线延伸到塞拉姆和帝汶岛。我们的结论建议不要过度依赖形态特征,并强调了整合数据集的重要性。