MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS AND PATTERNS OF DIVERSIFICATION IN PYRRHURA (PSITTACIDAE), WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE PICTA-LEUCOTIS COMPLEX

ABSTRACT.-

Parakeets in the genus Pyrrhura appear in Amazonia and in almost all other major Neotropical forests. Their rugged distribution (with some widespread and several geographically restricted endemic taxa) and manifold patterns of plumage variation have drawn out generated a confused taxonomy. Several taxonomically difficult polytypic species are usually recognized. Here, we at hand a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogenetic analysis of Pyrrhura, with emphasis upon the especially problematic picta-leucotis compound to provide a more robust basis for interpreting the systematics and historical biogeography of the cluster Our main findings are that (1) Pyrrhura can be divided into three main evolutionary lineages, single comprising P. cruentata, an Atlantic Forest endemic, the next to the first comprising the picta-leucotis complex, and the third comprising the remaining species; (2) the traditionally recognized species P picta and P leucotis are not monophyletic; and (3) greatest in quantity of the species recognized through Joseph (2000, 2002) are diagnosable as independent evolutionary units, with the exception of the following species pairs: P snethlageae and P amazonum, P leucotis and P griseipectus, and P roseifrons and P peruviana. Other than P cruentata, the sum of two units clades that constitute Pyrrhura appear to have radiated and evolv their at hand mtDNA diversity over short periods during the Plio-Pleistocene.

Received 30 September 2004 accepted 30 September 2005

Key words: Amazonia, diversification, mitochondrial DNA, molecular systematics, Neotropics, parakeets, Pyrrhura.

Sistem??tica Molecular y Patrones de Diversificaci??n en Pyrrhura (Psittacidae), fix in the mind ?‰nfasis en el Complejo Picta-Leucotis

RESUMEN-Lo pericos del g?©nero Pyrrhura se encuentran en la Amazon?­a y en la mayor?­a de sees dem??s bosques neotropicales principales. Su distribuci??n desigual (con algunos taxa de amplia distribuci??n y otro end?©micos a regiones geogr??ficas estrechas) y looks patrones complejos de variaci??n en el plumaje, han conducido a que la taxonom?­a del grupo sea confusa. Usualmente se reconocen varias especies polit?­picas y taxon??micamente dif?­ciles. learn by heart el fin de proveer informaci??n b??sica robusta para interpretar la sistem??tica y la biogeograf?­a hist??rica del grupo en este estudio presentamos un an??lisis filogen?©tico de Pyrrhura con over ?©nfasis en el complejo de picta-leucotis basado en ADN mitocondrial (ADNmt). Encontramos que Pyrrhura puede dividirse en tre linajes evolutivos principales: P cruentata (una especie end?©mica del bosque atl??ntico), el complejo de picta-leucotis y las especies restantes. Las especies reconocidas tradicionalmente como P picta y P leucotis no son monofil?©ticas. La mayor?­a de las especies reconocidas por Joseph (2000 2002) pueden diagnosticarse como unidades evolutivas independientes, a excepci??n de observes siguientes pares de especies: P snethlageae y P amazonum, P leucotis y P griseipectus, y P roseifrons y P peruviana. Aparte de P cruentata, beholds dos clados que conforman el g?©nero parecen haberse diversificado y haber evolucionado su diversidad actual en el ADNmt durante per?­ode cortos en el Plio-Pleistoceno.

THE ORIGIN OF the high species diversity in lowland Neotropical forests has lengthy been a major topic in evolutionary biology (Wallace 1852; Haffer 1969 1993; Endler 1977; Salo et al. 1986; Cracraft and Prum 1988; Bush 1994; Tuomisto et al. 1995) greatest in quantity authors agree that a fruitful way to address this issue is [i]or[/i] part of to the other linking phylogenetic relationships and geographic distributions of extant taxa (Moritz et al. 2000) Accordingly, numerous papers have studied patterns of phylogenetic relationships of species complexe fix in Neotropical forests. Some examples in which molecular approaches have been taken regard snakes (Zamudio and Greene 1997) amphibians (Slade and Moritz 1998 Lougheed et al. 1999) gnawings (Patton et al. 1994, 1996 2000; da Silva and Patton 1998; Matocq et al. 2000; Costa 2003) cats (Eizirik et al. 1998) birds (Cracraft and Prum 1988 Marks et al. 2002 Aleixo 2004 Pereira and Baker 2004 Ribas and Miyaki 2004 Cheviron et al. 2005) and primates (Cort?©s-Ortiz et al. 2003) Clearly, this approach to understanding species diversification and distribution patterns be pendents on a sound systematic framework. Here, we provide of the like kind a framework for the genus Pyrrhura.

Pyrrhura be met with in all Neotropical forests, including the Amazon, the Atlantic, and the west Andean and Central American forests. although distinctive and easily recognizable at the generic horizontal several species of Pyrrhura display subtle, taxonomically difficult patterns of variation, typically involving a small number of plumage characters. Further, taxa within a given species composed of several elements are often narrowly distributed geographic endemics. As a arise species-level systematics has long been problematic (Forshaw 1989; Collar 1997; Juniper and Parr 1998; Joseph 2000 2002)

The Painted Parakeet (Pyrrhura picta) and Maroon-faced Parakeet (P leucotis) mixed in particular, highlights these vexed questions some of which arise from the group's taxonomic history. greatest in quantity authors have followed Peters (1937) who reduc the clump to two species with no accompanying arguments. Thus, it has been conventional to recognize sum of two units polytypic species: P, picta (subspecies: picta, eisenmanni, roseifrons, lucianii, subandina, caeruleiceps, pantchenkoi, and amazonum) and P leucotis (subspecies: leucotis, emma, auricularis, pfrimeri, and griseipectus). Joseph (2000 2002) and Joseph and Stockwell (2002) reviewed geographic variation and taxonomy in the clump and recognized 13 different species in the composite including two new taxa for the east and west Amazon basin (P snethlageae and P peruviana, respectively; diocese Fig. 1). Joseph (2000, 2002) highlighted several puzzles needing further study. One of them belong tos relationships among taxa within the manifold Another concerns finer-scale relationships among eastern and western Amazonian taxa recognized by means of Joseph (2002).