Old and cosmopolite: molecular phylogeny of tropical–subtropical kites (Aves: Elaninae) with taxonomic implications
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Kites of the Elaninae group are small and medium-sized, mostly tropical raptors traditionally considered as an early diverged subfamily of the Accipitridae. We used nucleotide sequences of three genetic markers (mitochondrial Cyt b and COI, nuclear RAG-1) to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of the Elaninae, other kites, and representatives of different families of diurnal raptors. Our results confirm the basal position of Elaninae, separated the latest in Early Miocene, including Chelictinia riocourii, which was not sequenced before and belongs to this group. Not only DNA data but also cytological, morphological, and ecological data show the singularity of Elaninae. We suggest elevating this group to family level as Elanidae within the order Accipitriformes. It includes Gampsonyx swainsonii as a monotypic subfamily because of distinctive traits and DNA sequence data. Taxonomic implications for other macrogroups of Accipitriformes are discussed.
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The divergence of Elanus and Chelictinia is estimated at about twice as old as the estimate of Mindell et al. (2018).
“Conversely, our estimate for the divergence of Elanus and Chelictinia was about twice as old as the estimate of Mindell et al. (2018), whereas Starikov & Wink (2020) provided an intermediate estimate.”
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 Starikov & Wink (2020)
The divergence of Elaninae from the rest of Accipitridae is estimated at 44.7 MYA.
“Our estimate for the divergence of Elaninae from the rest of Accipitridae (44.7 MYA) was roughly twice as old as that of Starikov & Wink (2020)”
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 Starikov & Wink (2020)
Cites
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
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Catanach, 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
- Authors
- Starikov, I. J., & Wink, M.
- Affiliations
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- Department of Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 364, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Corresponding author
- Starikov, Ivan J.
- Venue
- Diversity
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2020-08-28
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 327
- ISSN
- 1424-2818 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3082820436
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 0.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Diversity (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Global Education Program (-)
- 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, Accipitriformes, kites, raptors, molecular phylogeny, family-level classification, cytochrome b, COI, RAG1
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