Molecular phylogenetics of the buteonine birds of prey (Accipitridae)
Open accessAbstract
Phylogenetic relationships among birds of prey in the subfamily Buteoninae are not fully established but are of particular interest because the Buteoninae constitute one of the largest accipitrid subgroups and include multiple species of conservation concern. Genera previously included within the Buteoninae are Buteo, Leucopternis, Buteogallus, Harpyhaliaetus, Busarellus, Parabuteo, Geranoaetus, Geranospiza, Ictinia, Rostrhamus, Kaupifalco, and Butastur. We analyzed representatives from all buteonine genera and most non-Buteo (i.e., "sub-buteo") species with >3,000 bases of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and found non-monophyly for the nominal genera Buteo, Buteogallus, and Leucopternis. The Old World Lizard Buzzard (Kaupifalco monogrammicus) is not closely related to buteonine taxa but is sister to goshawks in the genera Melierax, Micronisus, and Urotriorchis. Another Old World genus, Butastur, is sister to the clade including all other buteonine genera mentioned above. Investigation of several "superspecies" complexes within the genus Leucopternis revealed non-monophyly for the four subspecies of White Hawk (L. albicollis). On the basis of mitochondrial data, L. a. albicollis forms a clade with L. polionotus, whereas L. a. costaricensis, L. a. ghiesbreghti, and L. a. williaminae form a clade with L. occidentalis. Among taxa included as outgroups, we found two species in the genus Circus to be clearly nested within a clade of Accipiter spp.
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Melieraxinae was sister to only Accipitrinae + Circinae, not to a clade containing Accipitrinae + Circinae + Buteoninae.
“However, while Mindell et al. (2018) inferred Melieraxinae to be sister to a clade containing Accipitrinae + Circinae + Buteoninae, we found it to be sister to only Accipitrinae + Circinae, an arrangement also proposed by Lerner et al. (2008).”
From Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus <i>Accipiter</i> (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae) (2025) · cites this paper as Lerner et al. (2008)
The Results and Discussion (p. 9) place Kaupifalco with Melierax and its goshawk relatives rather than with buteonines, and report Circus nested within an Accipiter clade. The passages do not establish the specific claim that the Melierax group is sister to the Accipiter–Circus clade; a separate cytb analysis instead reports a polytomy among those groups and others (p. 6). (LLM, conf=0.77)
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Mindell, D. P., Fuchs, J., & Johnson, J. A. (2018) · Birds of Prey · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-73745-4_1 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Self-citationCatanach, T. A., Halley, M. R., & Pirro, S. (2025) · Biological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blae028 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
do Amaral, F. R., Sheldon, F. H., Gamauf, A., Haring, E., Riesing, M., Silveira, L. F., & Wajntal, A. (2009) · Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.07.020 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
- Authors
- LERNER, H. R. L., KLAVER, M. C., & MINDELL, D. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- ORCID
- MINDELL, DAVID P.
- Venue
- The Auk
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-04
- Volume
- 125
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 304-315
- ISSN
- 0004-8038 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-4254
- OpenAlex
- W2137240109
- Cited by
- 57
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 2.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Auk (publishedVersion)
- BioOne Complete (BioOne) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Plant Diversity and Evolution
- Keywords
- Accipitridae, raptors, phylogenetic relationships, Buteo, non-monophyly, conservation concern, northern goshawk, circus, Accipiter
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