Asymmetric allelic introgression across a hybrid zone of the coal tit (Periparus ater) in the central Himalayas*

Abstract

Phylogeographic patterns of many Holarctic terrestrial vertebrate species are considered a legacy of Pleistocene range fragmentation and divergence of genetic lineages in glacial refuges (Hewitt, 2000,

No evidence of a hybrid origin of the ashy‐throated parrotbill Sinosuthora alphonsiana

“…However, a remarkable ommission in Dai and Feng's line of argumentation is the lack of any explanation, why in Sinosuthora parrotbills a grey‐cheeked form should have evolved from hybridization between two red‐cheeked parental taxa. Indeed, novel phenotypes can arise from hybridization events like in the the golden‐crowned manakin ( Lepidothrix vilasboasi ; Barrera‐Guzmán et al 2018) or the cinnamon‐bellied hybrid populations in the Himalayan coal tit hybrid zone ( Periparus ater aemodius × P. a. melanolophus ; Wolfgramm et al 2021). In contrast, all previous discussions on possible hybridization in these Sinosuthora parrotbills referred to intermediate phenotypes between red‐cheeked S. webbianus and grey‐cheeked S. alphonsianus (Han 1991, Robson 2007).…”