In and out of Mesoamerica: temporal divergence of<i><scp>A</scp>mazilia</i>hummingbirds pre‐dates the orthodox account of the completion of the<scp>I</scp>sthmus of<scp>P</scp>anama

Abstract

Abstract Aim We used mitochondrial DNA sequences to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of Mesoamerican A mazilia hummingbirds ( T rochilidae). The phylogeny was used to identify vicariance scenarios, reconstruct ancestral biogeographical areas, and investigate the role of geological events in generating genetic divergence through vicariance events. Location Mesoamerica. Methods Molecular sequence data were gathered from three mitochondrial genes ( ND 2 , ND 5 and 12S ) for samples taken within the Mesoamerican region and analysed using maximum parsimony, maximum‐likelihood and B ayesian approaches. Statistical dispersal–vicariance analysis (S‐ DIVA ) was used to reconstruct biogeographical areas and changes in distribution during the evolutionary history of A mazilia . The phylogeny was calibrated using fossil dates, mean substitution rates and coalescent‐based divergence time inference. Results A mazilia can be split into two divergent lineages, with high levels of sequence divergence within some M esoamerican species. Ancestral area reconstructions favour an ancestral distribution west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with subsequent dispersals east of the isthmus and to South America. Divergence time estimations suggest that major diversification events occurred in the M iocene and P liocene, corresponding temporally and geographically to the formation of the mountain systems and establishment of the major biomes in M esoamerica. Main conclusions The diversification of A mazilia corresponds to vegetation shifts in combination with regional orogenesis. Intriguingly, the timing of the major diversification events and dispersal into S outh A merica pre‐dates the completion of the P anamanian isthmus c . 4 Ma before present.