Subspecific Taxonomy of Ficedula parva Based on Sequences of Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene

It was disputed that Ficedula parva parva and F.P.Albicilla were two species or two subspecies.Complete sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were used as a genetic marker to study the taxonomic status of them.The genetic distance between F.P.Albicilla and F.P.Parva was 6.3% based on the Kimuras two Parameters method,which was far more than the genetic distance between other species of Ficedula.The results suggest that F.P.Albicilla and F.P.Parva should be two species,their names are F.Albicilla and F.Parva separately,and the divergence time between F.P.Albicilla and F.P.Parva is 3.15 to 3.25 My.