Phylogeography, inter-specific limits and diversification of Turdus ignobilis (Aves: Turdidae)

• Multilocus phylogenies support the split of T. ignobilis into three species.
• “True” Turdus ignobilis correspond only to Andean/Tepuian lineages.
• “White-sand forest” lineages correspond to Turdus arthuri.
• Várzea floodplain lineages correspond to Turdus debilis, recovered as sister to T. maranonicus.
• Turdus nigriceps and Turdus subalaris are not sister taxa.

Turdus ignobilis is a widely distributed thrush species throughout northern South America and the Amazon, inhabiting a diverse set of habitats ranging from floodplain forests, white sand “campinas”, to highland forests (Andes and Tepuis). There are currently six known subspecies of T. ignobilis, which vary extensively phenotypically and also ecologically, but whose interspecific limits and evolutionary history have never been investigated before. In this study, we used molecular data and plumage characters to review the taxonomy and uncover the evolutionary relationships of the six T. ignobilis subspecies described to date. We estimated gene and species trees based on both mitochondrial (ND2 and COI) and nuclear (TGFB2 and G3PDH) genes, which recovered, with high statistical support, the polyphyly of Turdus ignobilis, as currently defined. Therefore, based on our results, we propose a new taxonomic treatment that splits T. ignobilis into at least three separate species based on both molecular data and plumage characters. Each newly recognized species inhabit a distinct habitat type, with “true” T. ignobilis occurring in highland habitats of the Tepuis and the Andes, while T. arthuri and T. debilis are tied to “white-sand forest” and várzea floodplain forests in lowland Amazonia, respectively.

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