Patagioenas is
a genus of New World pigeons whose
distinctness from the genus Columba was
long disputed but ultimately
confirmed. It is basal to
the Columba-Streptopelia radiation.
Their ancestors diverged
from that lineage probably
over 8 million
years ago.
While the biogeographic pattern
of this group suggests that
the ancestors of the typical
pigeons and turtle-doves
settled the Old
World from
the Americas, Patagioenas may
just as well be the
offspring of Old
World pigeons
which only radiated into
different genera later,
given that the cuckoo-doves
(Macropygia)
of Southeast
Asia also
seem to be closely related.[1]
