Conflict between genetic and phenotypic differentiation: the evolutionary history of a 'lost and rediscovered' shorebird.

ABSTRACT: Understanding and resolving conflicts between phenotypic and genetic differentiation is central to evolutionary research. While phenotypically monomorphic species may exhibit deep genetic divergences, some morphologically distinct taxa lack notable genetic differentiation. Here we conduct a molecular investigation of an enigmatic shorebird with a convoluted taxonomic history, the White-faced Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus dealbatus), widely regarded as a subspecies of the Kentish Plover (C. alexandrinus). Described as distinct in 1863, its name was consistently misapplied in subsequent decades until taxonomic clarification ensued in 2008. Using a recently proposed test of species delimitation, we reconfirm the phenotypic distinctness of dealbatus. We then compare three mitochondrial and s

SUBMITTER: Rheindt FE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3212520 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature