The tyrant‐flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are the largest family of birds in the New World. Although their phylogenetic relationships have been deeply studied based on phenotypic and genetic characters, several systematic uncertainties still exist. In particular, the affinities within the South American genus Ramphotrigon and its close relationship with the Mexican‐endemic Deltarhynchus flammulatus remain unresolved. Here we performed a taxonomic assessment of this intriguing relationship including, for the first time, representatives of all three Ramphotrigon species and the monotypic Deltarhynchus. We carried out phylogenetic analyses based on three mitochondrial markers and one autosomal nuclear intron, and complemented the genetic evidence with the study of morphological and plumage coloration differentiation, in order to provide a more in‐depth reassessment of the Ramphotrigon–Deltarhynchus relationship in general and the genus Ramphotrigon in particular. Genetic data showed that Ramphotrigon is paraphyletic as currently defined, with R. fuscicauda and R. ruficauda being more closely related to D. flammulatus than to R. megacephalum. This paraphyletic relationship was recovered with maximum support based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Ramphotrigon megacephalum evidenced a deep genetic divergence from its two congeners and D. flammulatus, comparable to that between the first one and other tyrannids. Ramphotrigon megacephalum was also significantly different from D. flammulatus, R. fuscicauda and R. ruficauda in external morphology and plumage coloration. On the other hand, D. flammulatus, R. fuscicauda and R. ruficauda showed almost no differences in the morphological variables analyzed. In this context, we believe that a taxonomic reorganization of this group is necessary. One possibility would be to transfer D. flammulatus to the genus Ramphotrigon and to assign R. megacephalum to a new genus with at least two species. Lastly, we propose a biogeographic model for the evolutionary history of Ramphotrigon and Deltarhynchus in South and Middle America over the past 12 million years.

中文翻译：

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Ramphotrigon 捕蝇器的分子系统发育学和表型重新评估：在一个有趣的生物地理场景背景下的深层副系

暴君捕蝇器（Tyrannidae）是新大陆最大的鸟类家族。尽管基于表型和遗传特征已经深入研究了它们的系统发育关系，但仍然存在一些系统性的不确定性。特别是，南美 Ramphotrigon 属的亲缘关系及其与墨西哥特有的 Deltarhynchus flammulatus 的密切关系仍未解决。在这里，我们对这种有趣的关系进行了分类评估，包括第一次对所有三种 Ramphotrigon 物种和单型 Deltarhynchus 的代表进行了评估。我们基于三个线粒体标记和一个常染色体核内含子进行了系统发育分析，并通过形态学和羽毛颜色分化的研究补充了遗传证据，为了对一般的 Ramphotrigon-Deltarhynchus 关系，特别是 Ramphotrigon 属提供更深入的重新评估。遗传数据显示，Ramphotrigon 是目前定义的并系群，R. fuscicauda 和 R. ruficauda 与 D. flammulatus 的关系比与 R. megacephalum 的关系更密切。这种并系关系在基于线粒体和核标记的最大支持下得以恢复。Ramphotrigon megacephalum 证明了其两个同类和 D. flammulatus 之间存在深刻的遗传差异，与第一个和其他暴龙科之间的差异相当。Ramphotrigon megacephalum 在外部形态和羽毛着色方面也与 D. flammulatus、R. fuscicauda 和 R. ruficauda 显着不同。另一方面，D. flammulatus、R. fuscicauda 和 R. ruficauda 在分析的形态变量中几乎没有差异。在这种情况下，我们认为有必要对该组进行分类重组。一种可能性是将 D. flammulatus 转移到 Ramphotrigon 属，并将 R. megacephalum 分配给一个至少有两个物种的新属。最后，我们为南美洲和中美洲的 Ramhotrigon 和 Deltarhynchus 在过去 1200 万年的进化历史提出了一个生物地理学模型。