Background: The Plain-backed Thrush Zoothera mollissima breeds in the Himalayas and mountains of central China. It was long considered conspecific with the Long-tailed Thrush Zoothera dixoni, until these were shown to...Background: The Plain-backed Thrush Zoothera mollissima breeds in the Himalayas and mountains of central China. It was long considered conspecific with the Long-tailed Thrush Zoothera dixoni, until these were shown to be broadly sympatric.Methods: We revise the Z. mollissima–Z. dixoni complex by integrating morphological, acoustic, genetic(two mitochondrial and two nuclear markers), ecological and distributional datasets.Results: In earlier field observations, we noted two very different song types of "Plain-backed" Thrush segregated by breeding habitat and elevation. Further integrative analyses congruently identify three groups: an alpine breeder in the Himalayas and Sichuan, China("Alpine Thrush"); a forest breeder in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan(at least), China("Himalayan Forest Thrush"); and a forest breeder in central Sichuan("Sichuan Forest Thrush"). Alpine and Himalayan Forest Thrushes are broadly sympatric, but segregated by habitat and altitude, and the same is probably true also for Alpine and Sichuan Forest Thrushes. These three groups differ markedly in morphology and songs. In addition, DNA sequence data from three non-breeding specimens from Yunnan indicate that yet another lineage exists("Yunnan Thrush"). However, we find no consistent morphological differences from Alpine Thrush, and its breeding range is unknown. Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that all four groups diverged at least a few million years ago, and identify Alpine Thrush and the putative "Yunnan Thrush" as sisters, and the two forest taxa as sisters. Cytochrome b divergences among the four Z. mollissima sensu lato(s.l.) clades are similar to those between any of them and Z. dixoni, and exceed that between the two congeneric outgroup species. We lectotypify the name Oreocincla rostrata Hodgson, 1845 with the Z. mollissima sensu stricto(s.s.) specimen long considered its type. No available name unambiguously pertains to the Himalayan Forest Thrush.Conclusions: The Plain-backed Thrush Z. mollissima s.l. comprises at least three species: Alpine Thrush Z. mollissima s.s., with a widespread alpine breeding distribution; Sichuan Forest Thrush Z. griseiceps, breeding in central Sichuan forests; and Himalayan Forest Thrush, breeding in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan(at least), which is described herein as a new species. "Yunnan Thrush" requires further study.展开更多
Background: Taxonomic treatment of the Zoothera dauma species complex is highly variable and has been hampered by the absence of song recordings for the Nilgiri Thrush(Zoothera [aurea] neilgherriensis).Methods: I obta...Background: Taxonomic treatment of the Zoothera dauma species complex is highly variable and has been hampered by the absence of song recordings for the Nilgiri Thrush(Zoothera [aurea] neilgherriensis).Methods: I obtained two recordings of the song of neigherriensis from southern Indian. Here I publish sonograms and analyze song recordings for all but one currently described taxon from the Eurasian portion of the geographic range of this species complex. Principal component analyses were used to investigate song differences between taxa.Results: The song of neigherriensis is a highly complex series of strophes remarkably similar to the song of the insular Zoothera major. Vocal analyses across the complex indicate four key groups of taxa differentiated in their songs:(1) simple flat whistled songs which include the northern aurea, toratugumi and the undescribed Taiwan population;(2) eastern populations of dauma(reported here for the first time) which sing like northern birds but with much broader bandwidth,(3) strongly down-slurred, thin whistles of tropical resident imbricata of Sri Lanka and horsfieldi of Indonesia, and(4) highly complex songs of Himalayan dauma, neilgherriensis and major.Conclusions: Zoothera dauma is unlikely to represent a single species given the simple singing populations from its eastern range and highly complex song from the Himalayan portion of its range. neilgherriensis should either be transferred from Zoothera aurea, where it is currently classified as a subspecies, and be placed as a subspecies within Z. dauma from the Himalayas or it should be recognized as a distinct species. Given the small number of songs available for analyses, I suggest the former course until it can be clearly demonstrated that neilgherriensis and Himalayan dauma are vocally distinct.展开更多
基金financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(Grant No.2014FY210200,to.T.C.and Y.G.)the Russian Science Foundation(Project No.14-50-00029,to M.K.)+3 种基金the Delia Koo Global Faculty Endowment of the Asian Studies Center,Michigan State University(to P.C.R.)The Sound Approach and Jornvall Foundation(both to P.A.and U.O.)the Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists(No.2011T2S04,to P.A.)Swarovski Optik Greater China(to P.A.)
文摘Background: The Plain-backed Thrush Zoothera mollissima breeds in the Himalayas and mountains of central China. It was long considered conspecific with the Long-tailed Thrush Zoothera dixoni, until these were shown to be broadly sympatric.Methods: We revise the Z. mollissima–Z. dixoni complex by integrating morphological, acoustic, genetic(two mitochondrial and two nuclear markers), ecological and distributional datasets.Results: In earlier field observations, we noted two very different song types of "Plain-backed" Thrush segregated by breeding habitat and elevation. Further integrative analyses congruently identify three groups: an alpine breeder in the Himalayas and Sichuan, China("Alpine Thrush"); a forest breeder in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan(at least), China("Himalayan Forest Thrush"); and a forest breeder in central Sichuan("Sichuan Forest Thrush"). Alpine and Himalayan Forest Thrushes are broadly sympatric, but segregated by habitat and altitude, and the same is probably true also for Alpine and Sichuan Forest Thrushes. These three groups differ markedly in morphology and songs. In addition, DNA sequence data from three non-breeding specimens from Yunnan indicate that yet another lineage exists("Yunnan Thrush"). However, we find no consistent morphological differences from Alpine Thrush, and its breeding range is unknown. Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that all four groups diverged at least a few million years ago, and identify Alpine Thrush and the putative "Yunnan Thrush" as sisters, and the two forest taxa as sisters. Cytochrome b divergences among the four Z. mollissima sensu lato(s.l.) clades are similar to those between any of them and Z. dixoni, and exceed that between the two congeneric outgroup species. We lectotypify the name Oreocincla rostrata Hodgson, 1845 with the Z. mollissima sensu stricto(s.s.) specimen long considered its type. No available name unambiguously pertains to the Himalayan Forest Thrush.Conclusions: The Plain-backed Thrush Z. mollissima s.l. comprises at least three species: Alpine Thrush Z. mollissima s.s., with a widespread alpine breeding distribution; Sichuan Forest Thrush Z. griseiceps, breeding in central Sichuan forests; and Himalayan Forest Thrush, breeding in the eastern Himalayas and northwest Yunnan(at least), which is described herein as a new species. "Yunnan Thrush" requires further study.
基金provided by an NSERC Postdoctoral fellowship,NSERC Discovery Grant(06538)and Accelerator Grant(492890)to JTWNSF grant to Trevor Price
文摘Background: Taxonomic treatment of the Zoothera dauma species complex is highly variable and has been hampered by the absence of song recordings for the Nilgiri Thrush(Zoothera [aurea] neilgherriensis).Methods: I obtained two recordings of the song of neigherriensis from southern Indian. Here I publish sonograms and analyze song recordings for all but one currently described taxon from the Eurasian portion of the geographic range of this species complex. Principal component analyses were used to investigate song differences between taxa.Results: The song of neigherriensis is a highly complex series of strophes remarkably similar to the song of the insular Zoothera major. Vocal analyses across the complex indicate four key groups of taxa differentiated in their songs:(1) simple flat whistled songs which include the northern aurea, toratugumi and the undescribed Taiwan population;(2) eastern populations of dauma(reported here for the first time) which sing like northern birds but with much broader bandwidth,(3) strongly down-slurred, thin whistles of tropical resident imbricata of Sri Lanka and horsfieldi of Indonesia, and(4) highly complex songs of Himalayan dauma, neilgherriensis and major.Conclusions: Zoothera dauma is unlikely to represent a single species given the simple singing populations from its eastern range and highly complex song from the Himalayan portion of its range. neilgherriensis should either be transferred from Zoothera aurea, where it is currently classified as a subspecies, and be placed as a subspecies within Z. dauma from the Himalayas or it should be recognized as a distinct species. Given the small number of songs available for analyses, I suggest the former course until it can be clearly demonstrated that neilgherriensis and Himalayan dauma are vocally distinct.
