The question of when modern birds (Neornithes) first diversified has generated much debate among avian systematists. Fossil evidence generally supports a Tertiary diversification, whereas estimates based on molecular dating favor an earlier diversification in the Cretaceous period. In this study, we used an alternate approach, the inference of historical biogeographic patterns, to test the hypothesis that the initial radiation of the Order Psittaciformes (the parrots and cockatoos) originated on the Gondwana supercontinent during the Cretaceous. We utilized broad taxonomic sampling (representatives of 69 of the 82 extant genera and 8 outgroup taxa) and multilocus molecular character sampling (3,941 bp from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes cytochrome oxidase I and NADH dehydrogenase 2 and nuclear introns of rhodopsin intron 1, tropomyosin alpha-subunit intron 5, and transforming growth factor ss-2) to generate phylogenetic hypotheses for the Psittaciformes. Analyses of the combined character partitions using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian criteria produced well-resolved and topologically similar trees in which the New Zealand taxa Strigops and Nestor (Psittacidae) were sister to all other psittaciforms and the cockatoo clade (Cacatuidae) was sister to a clade containing all remaining parrots (Psittacidae). Within this large clade of Psittacidae, some traditionally recognized tribes and subfamilies were monophyletic (e.g., Arini, Psittacini, and Loriinae), whereas several others were polyphyletic (e.g., Cyclopsittacini, Platycercini, Psittaculini, and Psittacinae). Ancestral area reconstructions using our Bayesian phylogenetic hypothesis and current distributions of genera supported the hypothesis of an Australasian origin for the Psittaciformes. Separate analyses of the timing of parrot diversification constructed with both Bayesian relaxed-clock and penalized likelihood approaches showed better agreement between geologic and diversification events in the chronograms based on a Cretaceous dating of the basal split within parrots than the chronograms based on a Tertiary dating of this split, although these data are more equivocal. Taken together, our results support a Cretaceous origin of Psittaciformes in Gondwana after the separation of Africa and the India/Madagascar block with subsequent diversification through both vicariance and dispersal. These well-resolved molecular phylogenies will be of value for comparative studies of behavior, ecology, and life history in parrots.

Illegal trade threatens the survival of many wild species, and molecular forensics can shed light on various questions raised during the investigation of cases of illegal trade. Among these questions is the identity of the species involved. Here we report a case of a man who was caught in a Brazilian airport trying to travel with 58 avian eggs. He claimed they were quail eggs, but authorities suspected they were from parrots. The embryos never hatched and it was not possible to identify them based on morphology. As 29% of parrot species are endangered, the identity of the species involved was important to establish a stronger criminal case. Thus, we identified the embryos' species based on the analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene [COI] and 16S ribosomal DNA). Embryonic COI sequences were compared with those deposited in BOLD (The Barcode of Life Data System) while their 16S sequences were compared with GenBank sequences. Clustering analysis based on neighbor-joining was also performed using parrot COI and 16S sequences deposited in BOLD and GenBank. The results, based on both genes, indicated that 57 embryos were parrots (Alipiopsitta xanthops, Ara ararauna, and the [Amazona aestiva/A. ochrocephala] complex), and 1 was an owl. This kind of data can help criminal investigations and to design species-specific anti-poaching strategies, and demonstrate how DNA sequence analysis in the identification of bird species is a powerful conservation tool.

This study is about the inter- and intra-specific genetic diversity of trypanosomatids of the genus Angomonas, and their association with Calliphoridae (blowflies) in Neotropical and Afrotropical regions. Microscopic examination of 3,900 flies of various families, mostly Calliphoridae, revealed that 31% of them harbored trypanosomatids. Small subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) barcoding showed that Angomonas predominated (46%) over the other common trypanosomatids of blowflies of genera Herpetomonas and Wallacemonas. Among Angomonas spp., A. deanei was much more common than the two-other species, A. desouzai and A. ambiguus. Phylogenetic analyses based on SSU rRNA, glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) and internal transcribed spacer rDNA (ITS rDNA) sequences revealed a marked genetic diversity within A. deanei, which comprised four infraspecific genotypes (Dea1–Dea4), and four corresponding symbiont genotypes (Kcr1–Kcr4). Host and symbiont phylogenies were highly congruent corroborating their co-divergence, consistent with host-symbiont interdependent metabolism and symbiont reduced genomes shaped by a long coevolutionary history. We compared the diversity of Angomonas/symbionts from three genera of blowflies, Lucilia, Chrysomya and Cochliomyia. A. deanei, A. desouzai, and A. ambiguus were found in the three genera of blowflies in South America. In Africa, A. deanei and A. ambiguus were identified in Chrysomya. The absence of A. desouzai in Africa and its presence in Neotropical Cochliomyia and Lucilia suggests parasite spillback of A. desouzai into Chrysomya, which was most likely introduced four decades ago from Africa into the Neotropic. The absence of correlation between parasite diversity and geographic and genetic distances, with identical genotypes of A. deanei found in the Neotropic and Afrotropic, is consistent with disjunct distribution due to the recent human-mediated transoceanic dispersal of Angomonas by Chrysomya. This study provides the most comprehensive data gathered so far on the genetic repertoires of a genus of trypanosomatids found in flies from a wide geographical range.