Dumbacher John P, Deiner Kristy, Thompson Lindsey, Fleischer Robert C
Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, National Zoological Park, and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20008, USA.
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2008 Dec;49(3):774-81. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.09.018. Epub 2008 Oct 1.
Bird species in the avian genus Pitohui contain potent neurotoxic alkaloids that may be used for defense. The genus comprises multiple species that are endemic to New Guinea and were presumed to belong to the family Pachycephalidae or Colluricinclidae, within the core corvoidea, an ancient Australasian radiation of crow-like birds. In order to understand the evolution of toxicity within the genus Pitohui, we sequenced three mitochondrial and two nuclear gene segments and reconstructed a phylogeny of the genus Pitohui and its putative relatives. We show that the genus Pitohui is polyphyletic, and consists of five different lineages. Using Bayesian ancestral state reconstruction, we estimate that toxicity likely evolved multiple times within this group. Furthermore, because the morphological and behavioral similarity among these poisonous birds appears to have evolved convergently, we hypothesize that this may be a possible example of Müllerian mimicry in birds. The Morningbird of Palau, Micronesia, that has often been included in the genus Pitohui, actually belongs in the genus Pachycephala and offers an intriguing case of pronounced evolution on a remote oceanic island.
啸鹟属鸟类体内含有可能用于防御的强效神经毒性生物碱。该属包括多个新几内亚特有物种，曾被认为属于厚头鸟科或白喉林莺科，位于核心鸦总科内，鸦总科是澳洲一种类似乌鸦的古老鸟类辐射群。为了了解啸鹟属内毒性的演化，我们对三个线粒体基因片段和两个核基因片段进行了测序，并重建了啸鹟属及其假定亲属的系统发育树。我们发现啸鹟属是多系的，由五个不同的谱系组成。通过贝叶斯祖先状态重建，我们估计毒性可能在这个群体中多次演化。此外，由于这些有毒鸟类之间的形态和行为相似性似乎是趋同演化的，我们推测这可能是鸟类缪勒拟态的一个可能例子。密克罗尼西亚帕劳的晨鸟，常被归入啸鹟属，实际上属于厚头鸟属，它在一个偏远的海洋岛屿上呈现出显著进化的有趣案例。
