Multilocus phylogeny of the New-World mud turtles (Kinosternidae) supports the traditional classification of the group

Abstract

A goal of modern taxonomy is to develop classifications that reflect current phylogenetic relationships and are as stable as possible given the inherent uncertainties in much of the tree of life. Here, we provide an in-depth phylogenetic analysis, based on 14 nuclear loci comprising 10,305 base pairs of aligned sequence data from all but two species of the turtle family Kinosternidae, to determine whether recent proposed changes to the group’s classification are justified and necessary. We conclude that those proposed changes were based on (1) mtDNA gene tree anomalies, (2) preliminary analyses that do not fully capture the breadth of geographic variation necessary to motivate taxonomic changes, and (3) changes in rank that are not motivated by non-monophyletic groups. Our recommendation, for this and other similar cases, is that taxonomic changes be made only when phylogenetic results that are statistically well-supported and corroborated by multiple independent lines of genetic evidence indicate that non-monophyletic groups are currently recognized and need to be corrected. We hope that other members of the phylogenetics community will join us in proposing taxonomic changes only when the strongest phylogenetic data demand such changes, and in so doing that we can move toward stable, phylogenetically informed classifications of lasting value.