Qu Yanhua, Ericson Per G P, Lei Fumin, Gebauer Axel, Kaiser Martin, Helbig Andreas J
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100080, China.
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2006 Jul;40(1):218-26. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.02.020. Epub 2006 Apr 18.
The snow finch complex (Montifringilla, Pyrgilauda, and Onychostruthus) has its center of distribution on the Tibetan plateau, with six out of seven species in the genera occurring there. Phylogenetic relationships among these six species of three genera have been studied based on DNA sequence data obtained from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the nuclear myoglobin gene. The results support monophyly of the snow finch complex group and three major evolutionary lineages are recognized. The first clade consists of ruficollis, blanfordi, and davidiana. These three taxa are sometimes placed in their own genus, Pyrgilauda, and the DNA data supports this. The three taxa nivalis, henrici, and adamsi have traditionally been placed in the genus Montifringilla, and they group together strongly in the present analysis. The results further suggest that nivalis and adamsi are more closely related to each other than are nivalis and henrici, despite that the latter two are often regarded as conspecific. The third distinct lineage within the snow finch complex consists of taczanowskii, which has been placed its own genus, Onychostruthus. This taxon has a basal position in the phylogenetic tree and is sister to all other snow finches. We estimated that taczanowskii split from the other taxa between 2 and 2.5 mya, i.e., about the time for the most recent uplift of the Tibetan plateau, "the Tibet movement", 3.6-1.7 mya. Cladogenesis within the Montifringilla and Pyrgilauda clades seems to be contemporary with the second phase of "Tibet movement" at 2.5 mya and the third phase at 1.7 mya and "Kunhuang movement" in 1.5-0.6 mya. The dramatic climatic and ecological changes following from the uplift of the Tibetan plateau, together with the cyclic contraction and expansion of suitable habitats during the Pleistocene, are probably the most important factors for the cladogenesis in snow finch complex.
雪雀类群（雪雀属、岭雀属和白腰雪雀属）的分布中心位于青藏高原，该类群七个物种中的六个分布于此。基于从线粒体细胞色素b基因和核肌红蛋白基因获得的DNA序列数据，对这三个属的六个物种之间的系统发育关系进行了研究。结果支持雪雀类群的单系性，并识别出三个主要的进化谱系。第一个分支包括棕颈雪雀、黑喉雪雀和褐翅雪雀。这三个分类单元有时被置于它们自己的属——岭雀属中，DNA数据支持这一分类。传统上，白斑翅雪雀、亨氏雪雀和黑嘴雪雀这三个分类单元被置于雪雀属中，在当前分析中它们紧密聚在一起。结果进一步表明，白斑翅雪雀和黑嘴雪雀彼此之间的关系比白斑翅雪雀和亨氏雪雀的关系更密切，尽管后两者常被视为同种。雪雀类群中的第三个独特谱系由藏雪雀组成，它被置于自己的属——白腰雪雀属中。这个分类单元在系统发育树中处于基部位置，是所有其他雪雀的姐妹群。我们估计藏雪雀在200万至250万年前与其他分类单元分化，即大约在青藏高原最近一次隆升“青藏运动”（360万至170万年前）的时期。雪雀属和岭雀属分支内的物种形成似乎与250万年前的“青藏运动”第二阶段、170万年前的第三阶段以及150万至60万年前的“昆黄运动”同时发生。青藏高原隆升后剧烈的气候和生态变化，以及更新世期间适宜栖息地的周期性收缩和扩张，可能是雪雀类群物种形成的最重要因素。
