Abstract
The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), a Near Threatened Cuban endemic, is iconic for its tiny size, with the male being the smallest bird in the world. In this study, one mitochondrial gene (ND2) and introns of two nuclear genes (encoding adenylate kinase and beta-fibrinogen) were sequenced and aligned to homologous sequences from other hummingbird species. With high statistical support, both Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses resolved the Bee Hummingbird as sister to the Bahama Woodstar (Calliphlox evelynae or Nesophlox evelynae) and the Inagua Hummingbird (C. lyrura), rather than the congeneric Vervain Hummingbird (M. minima). This finding highlights the need for a nomenclatural rearrangement of several hummingbird species, in line with the results of recent molecular phyloge-nies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 45-50 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Ornitologia Neotropical |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 25 Jun 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - 25 Jun 2021 |
Bibliographical note
YL performed this work as part of her MSc (Genetics) at Uni- versity of Aberdeen, whose support is acknowledged. TJS is funded by The Sound Approach PhD studentship. We thank two anonymous referees for their constructive comments on the submitted manuscript, the associate editor Raúl Ortíz- Pulido for his input, and Carlos Bosque for overseeing the final stages.Keywords
- Calliphlox phylogenetics
- Ciénaga de Zapata
- Cuba
- DNA
- Nesophlox