Phylogeny of Cranes (Gruiformes: Gruidae) Based on Cytochrome-B DNA Sequences

DNA sequences spanning 1,042 nucleotide bases of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene are reported for all 15 species and selected subspecies of cranes and an outgroup, the Limpkin (Aramus guarauna). Levels of sequence divergence coincide approximately with current taxonomic ranks at the subspecies, species, and subfamilial level, but not at the generic level within Gruinae. In particular, the two putative species of Balearica (B. pavonina and B. regulorum) are as distinct as most pairs of gruine species. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences produced results that are strikingly congruent with previous DNA-DNA hybridization and behavior studies. Among gruine cranes, five major lineages are identified. Two of these comprise single species (Grus leucogeranus, G. canadensis), while the others are species groups: Anthropoides and Bugeranus; G. antigone, G. rubicunda, and G. vipio; and G. grus, G. monachus, G. nigricollis, G. americana, and G. japonensis. Within the latter group, G. monachus and G. nigricollis are sister species, and G. japonensis appears to be the sister group to the other four species. The data provide no resolution of branching order for major groups, but suggest a rapid evolutionary diversification of these lineages.