The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Taxonomy includes organism names and classifications for every sequence in the nucleotide and protein sequence databases of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration. Since the last review of this resource in 2012, it has undergone several improvements. Most notable is the shift from a single SQL database to a series of linked databases tied to a framework of data called NameBank. This means that relations among data elements can be adjusted in more detail, resulting in expanded annotation of synonyms, the ability to flag names with specific nomenclatural properties, enhanced tracking of publications tied to names and improved annotation of scientific authorities and types. Additionally, practices utilized by NCBI Taxonomy curators specific to major taxonomic groups are described, terms peculiar to NCBI Taxonomy are explained, external resources are acknowledged and updates to tools and other resources are documented. Database URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/taxonomy

The Anseriformes is a well-known and widely distributed bird order, with more than 150 species in the world. This paper aims to revise the classification, determine the phylogenetic relationships and diversification patterns in Anseriformes by exploring the Cyt b, ND2, COI genes and the complete mitochondrial genomes (mito-genomes). Molecular phylogeny and genetic distance analyses suggest that the Dendrocygna species should be considered as an independent family, Dendrocygnidae, rather than a member of Anatidae. Molecular timescale analyses suggests that the ancestral diversification occurred during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (58 ~ 50 Ma). Furthermore, diversification analyses showed that, after a long period of constant diversification, the median initial speciation rate was accelerated three times, and finally increased to approximately 0.3 sp/My. In the present study, both molecular phylogeny and diversification analyses results support that Anseriformes birds underwent rapid and recent diversification in their evolutionary history, especially in modern ducks, which show extreme diversification during the Plio-Pleistocene (~ 5.3 Ma). Therefore, our study support that the Plio-Pleistocene climate fluctuations are likely to have played a significant role in promoting the recent diversification for Anseriformes.

Paleomagnetic data have been used to infer clockwise rotations and significant southward motion of the Indochina block during Cenozoic extrusion from the India-Asia collision zone. Because the Cenozoic of the Indochina block has been sparsely sampled to date and is key to determining the timing of this tectonic motion, we performed an extensive paleomagnetic study on Paleocene to Oligocene redbeds and middle Miocene sandy silts from the Jinggu Basin (23.5°N, 100.7°E), in northern Indochina. Paleomagnetic results from the redbeds pass fold tests, but they show exclusively normal polarity. There is controversy, however, on the age assignment to the lower part of the succession. If the age of the redbeds is indeed Paleogene, this indicates a prefolding remagnetization associated with Oligocene deformation of the Indochina block. If the age of the redbeds would be Late Cretaceous, their magnetization may be primary, and deposition could have taken place during the Cretaceous normal superchron. However, the abundance of secondary hematite in the redbeds in combination with the biostratigraphy, which indicates a Paleogene age for at least the upper two formations of the redbeds in the Jinggu Basin, implies a pervasive remagnetization. The middle Miocene sediments pass both the fold test and the reversals test and contain magnetite as well as hematite as carriers, suggesting a primary magnetization. Our large data set from the redbeds (>2000 paleomagnetic directions) demonstrates an ~30°-35° clockwise rotation of the Jinggu Basin with respect to Eurasia, for both scenarios, i.e., when compared to a ca. 100 Ma pole (if the redbeds carry a primary natural remanent magnetization) or to a ca. 30 Ma pole (if the sequence is remagnetized). The middle Miocene results, however, indicate that the Jinggu Basin experienced no significant (2° ± 5.6°) rotation with respect to Eurasia. Since no major deformation has occurred within northern Indochina during Late Cretaceous to Eocene times, our results reflect a major clockwise rotation of the Indochina block during its Oligocene to early Miocene extrusion from the India-Asia collision zone.