Phylogenetic Relationships of the Phasianidae Reveals Possible Non-Pheasant Taxa
The phylogenetic relationships of 21 pheasant and 6 non-pheasant species were determined using nucleotide sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analysis were used to try to resolve the phylogenetic relationships within Phasianidae. Both the degr...
Saved in:
Published in | The Journal of heredity Vol. 94; no. 6; pp. 472 - 489 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Oxford University Press
01.11.2003
Oxford Publishing Limited (England) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | The phylogenetic relationships of 21 pheasant and 6 non-pheasant species were determined using nucleotide sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analysis were used to try to resolve the phylogenetic relationships within Phasianidae. Both the degree of resolution and strength of support are improved over previous studies due to the testing of a number of species from multiple pheasant genera, but several major ambiguities persist. Polyplectron bicalcaratum (grey peacock pheasant) is shown not to be a pheasant. Alternatively, it appears ancestral to either the partridges or peafowl. Pucrasia macrolopha macrolopha (koklass) and Gallus gallus (red jungle fowl) both emerge as non-pheasant genera. Monophyly of the pheasant group is challenged if Pucrasia macrolopha macrolopha and Gallus gallus are considered to be pheasants. The placement of Catreus wallichii (cheer) within the pheasants also remains undetermined, as does the cause for the great sequence divergence in Chrysolophus pictus obscurus (black-throated golden). These results suggest that alterations in taxonomic classifications may be required for some pheasant species and genera. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | Address correspondence to Krista Bush at the address above, or e-mail: kbush@ualberta.ca. local:esg092 istex:35618A23A9A3ED2EDB4F3F660BED6AE3AC8C18AD ark:/67375/HXZ-3Q9QH9BN-P ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0022-1503 1465-7333 |
DOI: | 10.1093/jhered/esg092 |