Aphelocoma
| Aphelocoma | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: |
Aphelocoma Cabanis, 1851 |
| Species | |
|
Aphelocoma californica |
|
Aphelocoma californica
Aphelocoma woodhouseii
Aphelocoma coerulescens
Aphelocoma insularis
Aphelocoma ultramarina
Aphelocoma unicolor
Aphelocoma wollweberi
and see text
The passerine birds of the genus Aphelocoma include the scrub jays and relatives. They are New World jays found in Mexico, western Central America and the western United States, with an outlying population in Florida. This genus belongs to the group of New World (or "blue") jays–possibly a distinct subfamily–which is not closely related to other jays, magpies or treepies. They live in open pine-oak forests, chaparral, and mixed evergreen forests.
Seven species of Aphelocoma are generally recognized currently. They are believed to have evolved in the , and the Floridan species is known to have been recognizably distinct and present in its current range for at least 2 million years. The inland, coastal, and Santa Cruz island populations of the (former) Western Scrub Jay are now considered three distinct species, namely the Woodhouse, California, and Island Scrub Jays. Different populations of the Mexican jay might similarly represent two distinct species.
mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data is unable to properly resolve the relationships of the species. Judging from New World jay biogeography, the unicolored or Mexican jays might represent the most basal lineage; morphology would tentatively lean towards the latter which retains more of the group's color patterns, while the available molecular data allows no robust conclusions whatsoever. In any case, the data of Rice et al. (2003) suggests – albeit also with very low confidence – that the Mexican jay comprises two clades which might constitute different species. However, far too few individuals have been sampled to say anything definite on that matter, except that the lineages – if they indeed exist – do not correspond to the geographical pattern of intraspecific variation (see species article for more).
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Wikipedia