The Northern Eurasia origin hypothesis is one key pointin the evolutionary model. This indicates that species riginated in Northern Eurasia. Perdix, belonging to Phasianidae of Galliformes,is a valuable type of wildfowl widely distributed Northern Eurasia and containsthree species. This mini-review discusses the taxonomic status, phylogeny, and originof Perdix. Morphological and molecularevidence suggest that the three species, P. hodgsoniae, P. dauuricae and P. perdix, form a monophyletic group and they should be classified as “pheasant” ratherthan “quail.” The current review also shows that results were affected by the methodsselected for data analysis. A taxonomic category should contain as many speciesas possible, have a clear system history, remain evolutionarily stable, and lackadaptive radiation. Appropriate type, number and length of genes are important asmolecular markers and out-group affects the bootstrap support value. P. hodgsoniae is located at the root of thephylogenetic tree and has the phenotype of ancestral Perdix. The genus Perdix mayoriginate in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau andexpanded into high latitude areas, towards the northern plateau. This phylogeneticand evolutionary statement differs from the Eurasian origin hypothesis.

The Northern Eurasia origin hypothesis is one key pointin the evolutionary model. This indicates that species riginated in Northern Eurasia. Perdix, belonging to Phasianidae of Galliformes,is a valuable type of wildfowl widely distributed Northern Eurasia and containsthree species. This mini-review discusses the taxonomic status, phylogeny, and originof Perdix. Morphological and molecularevidence suggest that the three species, P. hodgsoniae, P. dauuricae and P. perdix, form a monophyletic group and they should be classified as “pheasant” ratherthan “quail.” The current review also shows that results were affected by the methodsselected for data analysis. A taxonomic category should contain as many speciesas possible, have a clear system history, remain evolutionarily stable, and lackadaptive radiation. Appropriate type, number and length of genes are important asmolecular markers and out-group affects the bootstrap support value. P. hodgsoniae is located at the root of thephylogenetic tree and has the phenotype of ancestral Perdix. The genus Perdix mayoriginate in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau andexpanded into high latitude areas, towards the northern plateau. This phylogeneticand evolutionary statement differs from the Eurasian origin hypothesis.