The Neotropical tinamous are of particular interest in our efforts to understand the evolution of modern birds. They inhabit both forested and open environments and, although volant, have limited flight capabilities. Numerous studies have recognized the monophyly of tinamous and their relationships either as sister to the flightless ratites (ostriches, emus and their relatives) or within the ratites themselves. Despite the numerous bird phylogenies published recently, modern investigations of relationships within the tinamous themselves have been limited. Here, we present the first detailed phylogenetic analysis and divergence-date estimation including a significant number of tinamou species, both extant and fossil. The monophyly of most currently recognized polytypic genera is recovered with high support, with the exception of the paraphyletic Nothura and Nothoprocta. The traditional subdivision between those tinamous inhabiting open areas (Nothurinae) and forest environments (Tinaminae) is also confirmed. A temporal calibration of the resultant phylogeny estimates that the basal divergence of crown Tinamidae took place between 31 and 40 Mya.

中文翻译：

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从分子和组合分析看 tinamous (Palaeognathae: Tinamidae) 的进化

新热带鸟类对我们了解现代鸟类进化的努力特别感兴趣。它们栖息在森林和开阔的环境中，虽然灵活，但飞行能力有限。许多研究已经认识到 tinamous 的单一性及其关系，或者作为不会飞的平胸（鸵鸟、鸸鹋及其亲属）的姐妹，或者在平胸本身内。尽管最近发表了许多鸟类系统发育，但对鸟类自身内部关系的现代调查仍然有限。在这里，我们提出了第一个详细的系统发育分析和分歧日期估计，包括大量现存的和化石的 tinamou 物种。目前公认的多型属的单系在高度支持下得到恢复，除了并系的 Nothura 和 Nothoprocta。那些栖息在开阔地带（Nothurinae）和森林环境（Tinaminae）之间的传统细分也得到了证实。由此产生的系统发育的时间校准估计冠Tinamidae的基础分歧发生在31到40 Mya之间。