Molecular phylogeny of jacanas and its implications for morphologic and biogeographic evolution

Abstract

We compared sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome-b and ND5 genes in a phylogenetic analysis of seven species of jacanas, representing all six genera and including the Greater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) as an outgroup. When analyzed separately by parsimony and maximum-likelihood bootstrapping, the two genes produced consistent trees, although the ND5 tree was better resolved than the cytochrome-b tree. When combined, the data from the two genes produced a fully resolved tree that was identical to the ND5 tree. This tree had the following form: ((((Irediparra, Microparra), Metopidius), Actophilornis), ((Jacana jacana, J. spinosa), Hydrophasianus)), Rostratula. The phylogeny consists of two major clades that were known to traditional and phylogenetic taxonomists. It also contains sister taxa that are geographically disjunct: the New World Jacana and Asian Hydrophasianus, and the African Microparra and Australian Irediparra. We postulate that this biogeographic pattern results from the extinction of intervening African and Asian taxa, respectively.