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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PeerJ

Comparative range-wide phylogeography and evolutionary history of the two Pyrrhocorax species (Passeriformes: Corvidae)

  • Iñigo Palacios-Martínez1,2
  • Francisco Morinha3
  • José Antonio Dávila4
  • Mohammad Tohidifar5
  • Michael Stubbe6
  • Annegret Stubbe6
  • Augusto De Sanctis7
  • Stavros Xirouchakis8
  • Guillermo Blanco1
8 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
  2. 2Escuela de Doctorado UAM, Centro de Estudios de Posgrado, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  3. 3Laboratory of Biodiversity and Molecular Genetics, Morinha Lab, Vila Real, Portugal
  4. 4Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC, UCLM, JCCM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Ciudad Real, Spain
  5. 5Iran Bird Records Committee, Tehran, Iran
  6. 6Martin-Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
  7. 7Stazione Ornitologica Abruzzese, Pescara, Italy
  8. 8School of Sciences and Engineering, Natural History Museum of Crete, University Campus (Knossos), University of Crete, Crete, Greece
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Abstract

Phylogeographic analyses provide key insights into how historical climate change, geographic barriers, and species-specific ecological traits shape evolutionary divergence. We investigated the phylogeography and evolutionary history of the two extant chough species, the red-billed chough ( Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax , n = 65) and the alpine chough ( Pyrrhocorax graculus , n = 33), across most of their Palearctic range. Using concatenated mitochondrial DNA sequences, complemented by nuclear intron markers, we reconstructed and test lineage divergence and historical dispersal patterns. Haplotype networks revealed long branches separating geographically isolated populations, indicating prolonged historical isolation. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the monophyly of Pyrrhocorax and revealed a deep split between the two species at approximately 2.5 million years ago. Formal Ancestral Range Analysis (ARA) indicates that Himalayan regions served as the ancestral hub for both species. Within P. graculus , two main mitochondrial lineages were identified: a highly divergent Himalayan and European–Moroccan lineages (around 94 kya). In contrast, P. pyrrhocorax exhibited pronounced phylogeographic complexity, with major east–west differentiation and additional regional structuring across Europe, North Africa, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, and Central Asia, with divergence times ranging from 0.75 Mya to 61–94 kya. Quantitative metrics ( π and Da ) revealed significant interspecific divergence and distinct population-level structuring. Our results highlight the combined roles of historical isolation, Pleistocene climate dynamics, altitudinal gradients, and ecological constraints in shaping divergence in Pyrrhocorax . This phylogeographic framework provides essential guidance for conservation management, emphasizing the importance of preserving distinct evolutionary lineages in fragmented and declining populations.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{palaciosmartinez2026comparative,
  title = {{Comparative range-wide phylogeography and evolutionary history of the two Pyrrhocorax species (Passeriformes: Corvidae)}},
  author = {Iñigo Palacios-Martínez and Francisco Morinha and José Antonio Dávila and Mohammad Tohidifar and Michael Stubbe and Annegret Stubbe and Augusto De Sanctis and Stavros Xirouchakis and Guillermo Blanco},
  journal = {PeerJ},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.7717/peerj.21799},
  url = {https://peerj.com/articles/21799},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Comparative range-wide phylogeography and evolutionary history of the two Pyrrhocorax species (Passeriformes: Corvidae)
AU  - Iñigo Palacios-Martínez
AU  - Francisco Morinha
AU  - José Antonio Dávila
AU  - Mohammad Tohidifar
AU  - Michael Stubbe
AU  - Annegret Stubbe
AU  - Augusto De Sanctis
AU  - Stavros Xirouchakis
AU  - Guillermo Blanco
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/09
JO  - PeerJ
DO  - 10.7717/peerj.21799
UR  - https://peerj.com/articles/21799
AB  - Phylogeographic analyses provide key insights into how historical climate change, geographic barriers, and species-specific ecological traits shape evolutionary divergence. We investigated the phylogeography and evolutionary history of the two extant chough species, the red-billed chough ( Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax , n = 65) and the alpine chough ( Pyrrhocorax graculus , n = 33), across most of their Palearctic range. Using concatenated mitochondrial DNA sequences, complemented by nuclear intron markers, we reconstructed and test lineage divergence and historical dispersal patterns. Haplotype networks revealed long branches separating geographically isolated populations, indicating prolonged historical isolation. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the monophyly of Pyrrhocorax and revealed a deep split between the two species at approximately 2.5 million years ago. Formal Ancestral Range Analysis (ARA) indicates that Himalayan regions served as the ancestral hub for both species. Within P. graculus , two main mitochondrial lineages were identified: a highly divergent Himalayan and European–Moroccan lineages (around 94 kya). In contrast, P. pyrrhocorax exhibited pronounced phylogeographic complexity, with major east–west differentiation and additional regional structuring across Europe, North Africa, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, and Central Asia, with divergence times ranging from 0.75 Mya to 61–94 kya. Quantitative metrics ( π and Da ) revealed significant interspecific divergence and distinct population-level structuring. Our results highlight the combined roles of historical isolation, Pleistocene climate dynamics, altitudinal gradients, and ecological constraints in shaping divergence in Pyrrhocorax . This phylogeographic framework provides essential guidance for conservation management, emphasizing the importance of preserving distinct evolutionary lineages in fragmented and declining populations.
SN  - 2167-8359
ER  -