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Phylogeny of cooperatively breeding cuckoos (Cuculidae, Crotophaginae) based on mitochondrial gene sequences

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Abstract

The Crotophaginae is a subfamily of New World cuckoos comprising the monotypic genus Guira and three ani species (Crotophaga). All exhibit a rare form of cooperative breeding known as plural female joint-nesting, whereby two or more females lay eggs in a single nest. I reconstructed the phylogeny of Crotophaginae using the mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase I, II, and III, ATPase 6 and 8, and cytochrome b. The subfamily was monophyletic, implying a single origin of cooperative breeding in New World cuckoos. Crotophaga was also monophyletic with Guira as its sister taxon. Within Crotophaga, the smooth-billed (C. ani) and groove-billed (C. sulcirostris) anis formed the internal clade with the greater ani (C. major) basal to this pair. This phylogeny is consistent with differences in reproductive patterns and social organization exhibited by crotophagine cuckoos, and will serve as a framework for future study of the evolution of cooperative breeding in this subfamily.

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Acknowledgements

I thank D.L. Dittman, F.H. Sheldon (Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Sciences, Baton Rouge), M.J. Braun, C. Huddleston (United States National Museum, Washington, D.C.), D.J. Agro, L. Joseph (Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia), J.M. Bates (Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago), and R.W. Dickerman (Museum of Southwest Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque) for providing tissue specimens. This work was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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  1. Department of Biology, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1, Canada

    Janice M. Hughes

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  1. Janice M. Hughes
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Correspondence to Janice M. Hughes.

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Hughes, J.M. Phylogeny of cooperatively breeding cuckoos (Cuculidae, Crotophaginae) based on mitochondrial gene sequences. Naturwissenschaften 90, 231–233 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0413-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0413-8

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