Evolutionary history of New World crakes (Aves: Rallidae) with emphasis on the tribe Laterallini

Abstract

AbstractNew World crakes are intriguing, poorly known birds with cursorial cryptic habits; they belong to two unrelated tribes: Laterallini and Pardirallini. Recent genetic studies contributed to the phylogenetic knowledge of these tribes, but a complete phylogenetic reconstruction is still missing. Here, we present the most taxonomically complete dated gene‐based phylogeny of New World crakes, with an emphasis on the Laterallini, including for the first time sequences ofCoturnicops notatus,Laterallus levraudi,L. jamaicensis tuerosiandL. xenopterus. We used multilocus (mtDNA + nucDNA) phylogenetic analyses and interpreted our results in light of the natural history of the group. Our novel results show that: (1)L. xenopterusis sister toL. leucopyrrhus; (2)L. j. tuerosiis sister toL. spilonota; (3)C. notatusis sister to the clade that groups the remaining New World black crakes (L. jamaicensis,L. j. tuerosi, L. rogersi,L. spilonotaandL. spilopterus); and (4)L. levraudiandL. melanophaiusconform a recently diverged clade. Thus, our results indicate polyphyly in this group, particularly forLaterallusand, for the first time, forCoturnicops. We show that some discrepancies with previous studies stem from misidentified samples or sequences ofL. leucopyrrhusandAnurolimnas fasciatus.Finally, we provide new preliminary insights into species limits of some taxa, specifically forL. levraudi,L. melanophaiusandL. j. tuerosi. Our results set the stage for integrative taxonomic assessments at the generic level in the Laterallini by incorporating phylogenetic (gene‐based) and natural history data.