Abstract
In this contribution I comment on the generic taxonomy of skuas, Stercorariidae, based on the currently available hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships for the group – i.e., the cladograms. Specifically, the different cladograms were examined following Hennig's principle of reciprocal illumination, in which a given hypothesis is evaluated by the extent to which it agrees with competing hypotheses. Currently, all species are often assigned to genus Stercorarius. However, chewing lice- (Insecta, Phthiraptera), behaviour- (territorial display and calls) and molecular-based (mitochondrial DNA) hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships all indicate that Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus and the species formerly placed in genus Catharacta are monophyletic and sister to a clade comprising Long-tailed S. longicaudus and Parasitic S. parasiticus Skuas. Therefore, contrary to the prevailing view that all species within the family should be placed in a single genus, I argue herein that in a cladistic-based classification by sequencing, both S. parasiticus and S. longicaudus should retain their generic name, whereas S. pomarinus should be transferred to Catharacta , as C. pomarina .
Highlights
Vogt (2008, 2014; see Rieppel 2008) argued that Karl Popper's hypothetico-deductive method and falsificationism are not applicable to cladistics
As observed by Vogt (2008: 65) “[n]either such background knowledge as for instance ‘descent with modification’, nor any specific tree hypothesis prohibits the occurrence of convergent evolution
A given tree hypothesis is logically congruent with any specific evidence of character state distribution ... [and] does not prohibit any specific character state distribution.”
Summary
Vogt (2008, 2014; see Rieppel 2008) argued that Karl Popper's hypothetico-deductive method and falsificationism are not applicable to cladistics (for a contrary view cf. Farris 2014). In their single most-parsimonious cladogram, the species were divided into two clades; the first consisting of Parasitic S. parasiticus and Long-tailed S. longicaudus Skuas, and the second, which is the sister-group to the first, of Pomarine Skua S. pomarinus, and the other five Catharacta species.
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