The Sulawesi Thrush (Cataponera turdoides; Aves: Passeriformes) belongs to the genus Turdus

The Asian and Australo-Papuan faunas meet and intermix across the islands of Wallacea. Untangling the origins and relationships of the species inhabiting these archipelagos is an ongoing project that has lasted for well over a century. In recent years, molecular phylogenetic studies have made considerable progress in clarifying the affinities of enigmatic Wallacean taxa; but taxonomic riddles remain, even in groups as well studied as birds. Such is the case with Sulawesi Thrush Cataponera turdoides, a scarce and elusive montane songbird whose taxonomic placement has remained controversial since its description. To determine the evolutionary relationships of this monotypic genus, we obtained a museum specimen and employed whole-genome resequencing to generate a multi-locus dataset. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using UCEs, and individual mitochondrial and nuclear genes. We show that Cataponera is a true thrush of the large and geographically widespread genus Turdus. It belongs to a clade predominantly composed of migratory Palearctic species, but has no close relatives within that group. Sulawesi Thrush is one of only two members of the genus Turdus known to have crossed Wallace’s Line to form resident populations.

亚洲与澳大拉西亚-巴布亚动物群在华莱士区（Wallacea）的各岛屿间交汇融合。厘清栖息于该群岛的物种的起源与演化关系，是一项已延续百余年的持续性研究课题。近年来，分子系统发育研究在阐明神秘华莱士类群的亲缘关系方面取得了长足进展，但即便在鸟类这类研究较为充分的类群中，分类学谜题依然存在。以苏拉威西鸫（Sulawesi Thrush）*Cataponera turdoides*为例，这种稀少隐秘的山地鸣禽自被正式描述以来，其分类归属一直存在争议。为明确这一单型属的演化关系，我们获取了一份博物馆馆藏标本，并通过全基因组重测序构建了多位点数据集。我们利用超保守元件（UCEs）以及单个线粒体基因与核基因开展了系统发育分析。研究结果显示，*Cataponera*属隶属于分布范围广泛的大型鸫属（Turdus），是真正的鸫类成员。它隶属于一个主要由迁徙性古北界物种构成的演化支，但在该类群中并无近缘物种。苏拉威西鸫是目前已知仅有的两种跨越华莱士线（Wallace’s Line）并形成定居种群的鸫属物种之一。