Abstract

Hummingbirds are one of the most diverse families of birds and the phylogenetic relationships within the group have recently begun to be studied with molecular data. Most of these studies have focused on the higher level classification within the family, and now it is necessary to study the relationships between and within genera using a similar approach. Here, we investigated the taxonomic status of the genus Hylocharis, a member of the Emeralds complex, whose relationships with other genera are unclear; we also investigated the existence of the Basilinna genus. We obtained sequences of mitochondrial (ND2: 537 bp) and nuclear genes (AK-5 intron: 535 bp, and c-mos: 572 bp) for 6 of the 8 currently recognized species and outgroups. Our analyses, using 3 different inference methods (Maximun Parsimony, Likelihood and Bayesian methods), corroborate the existence of the hummingbird genus Basilinna as composed of 2 species commonly assigned to the genus Hylocharis: leucotis and xantusii. Our study also supports that Hylocharis is a paraphyletic genus that includes species belonging to the genus Amazilia.