Molecular phylogeny and diversification of a widespread Neotropical rainforest bird group: The Buff-throated Woodcreeper complex, Xiphorhynchus guttatus/susurrans (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae)

Abstract

The genus Xiphorhynchus is a species rich avian group widely distributed in Neotropical forests of Central and South America. Although recent molecular studies have improved our understanding of the spatial patterns of genetic diversity in some species of this genus, most are still poorly known, including their taxonomy. Here, we address the historical diversification and phylogenetic relationships of the X. guttatus/susurrans complex, using data from two mitochondrial (cyt b and ND2) and one nuclear (β-fibint7) genes. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred with both gene trees and a Bayesian-based species tree under a coalescent framework (∗BEAST). With exception of the nuclear β-fibint7 gene that produced an unresolved tree, both mtDNA and the species tree showed a similar topology and were congruent in recovering five main clades with high statistical support. These clades, however, are not fully concordant with traditional delimitation of some X. guttatus subspecies, since X. g. polystictus, X. g. guttatus, and X. g. connectens are not supported as distinct clades. Interestingly, these three taxa are more closely related to the mostly trans-Andean X. susurrans than the other southern and western Amazonian subspecies of X. guttatus, which constitutes a paraphyletic species. Timing estimates based on the species tree indicated that diversification in X. guttatus occurred between the end of the Pliocene and early Pleistocene, likely associated with the formation of the modern Amazon River and its main southern tributaries (Xingu, Tocantins, and Madeira), in addition to climate-induced changes in the distribution of rainforest biomes. Our study supports with an enlarged dataset a previous proposal for recognizing at least three species level taxa in the X. guttatus/susurrans complex: X. susurrans, X. guttatus, and X. guttatoides.