Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

login


[close window] [previous abstract] [next abstract]

Gysels H. (1968) Biochemical approach of the central systematic position of the Ciconiiformes. ARDEA 56 (3-4): 267-280
Taxonomical conclusions drawn from lens proteins separated by agar electrophoresis may throw some new light upon the phylogenetic relationships within the Ciconiiformes and upon their links with related orders. While most avian lens pherograms are remarkably uniform within the orders, Ciconiiformes show at least three basically different pherogram types. (1) The Ardeinae-Botaurinae have the complex passeriform lens pattern, which not only occurs in Passeriformes, but also in a lot of other orders, among which the Falconiformes and Gruiformes. (2) Cochlearius has a lens pattern, which by its immunological reaction against anti-starling lens antiserum can easily be recognized as an anseriform type. Moreover, the Ardeidae, Cochlearius and Balaeniceps have a lens protein component in common which seems to be characteristic for herons only. (3) Regarding number, nature and mobility of the protein fractions, the Ciconiidae and Scopus umbretta have very similar lens patterns. This pattern neither shows the typical song bird component (TSBC, mobility 60) nor the typical heron component (mobility 43/44); after all, it makes one think of the pattern of Pelecanus. Whether some supplementary lens protein fractions in the ibis lens pherograms mayor may not separate them from the storks, is not quite clear at the present state of research. Electrophoresis of Phoenicopteriformes lenses results in another pherogram type. Whereas no apparent resemblances with the ciconiiform lens patterns are recorded, it should be stressed, that both flamingos and herons-storks-ibises have glycogen-containing lenses, while Anseriformes have not. When referring to the corresponding studies in anatomy and other taxonomic disciplines, the meaning and importance of the new biochemical data are discussed. This discussion leads to a new appreciation of the phylogenetic importance of the studied orders: the different lens types recorded in the Ciconiiformes may give us an idea of the possible phases passed during the evolutionary progress: From originally glycogen-negative, anseriform lens pherograms, glycogen-positive anseriform pherograms, as in Cochlearius, may easily be derived. Anatomical arguments for proving that Cochlearius is really a heron are reinforced by the existence of a typical heron lens component which occurs both in this bird and in the Ardeidae. The passeriform lens pattern of the Ardeidae may link these birds to all other orders that possess this same pattern. According to this hypothesis, one may conclude that, besides the Phoenicopteriformes which are usually believed to connect Anseriformes and Ciconiiformes, the heterogeneous order of Ciconiiformes itself is a group linking orders on a much larger scale.


[close window] [previous abstract] [next abstract]