Article
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

The Chionoidea are a small, southern hemispheric shorebird clade that today includes the Magellanic Plover (Pluvianellidae) and two species of sheathbills (Chionidae). Here we describe the first fossil remains attributable to this group. The two newly described species, the early Miocene Neilus sansomae gen. et sp. nov. from New Zealand and the late Oligocene Chionoides australiensis gen. et sp. nov. from South Australia, are overall more similar to sheathbills, but the mosaic of characters shared with both Chionidae and Pluvianellidae preclude referral to either lineage. Attribution of fossils this age to these lineages also conflicts with divergence dates based on molecular data, as the split between the Magellanic Plover and sheathbills is hypothesised to be more recent. We therefore suggest that these Australasian, plover-size species represent the first record of stem-group taxa within Chionoidea. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2A5A2FD1-C3B5-4BAB-88D8-5862FE9E7976

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... The coracoid NMNHU-P, no.45-2453 is more similar to Haematopus ostralegus than to any other representative of the suborder Charadrii but it differs from the modern Eurasian oystercatcher in several details. As in Haematopus ostralegus and other representatives of Charadrii, but contrary to most Lari, the processus acrocoracoideus projects considerably in the mediolaterally plane resulting in an elongate facies clavicularis (De Pietri et al. 2016). Similarly to Charadrii including H. ostralegus but contrary to all Scolopaci and some Lari, a foramen nervi supracoracoidei is present (Mayr, 2011;De Pietri et al., 2016), but contrary to all other Charadrii the foramen is very close to the sternal margin of the cotyla scapularis. ...
... As in Haematopus ostralegus and other representatives of Charadrii, but contrary to most Lari, the processus acrocoracoideus projects considerably in the mediolaterally plane resulting in an elongate facies clavicularis (De Pietri et al. 2016). Similarly to Charadrii including H. ostralegus but contrary to all Scolopaci and some Lari, a foramen nervi supracoracoidei is present (Mayr, 2011;De Pietri et al., 2016), but contrary to all other Charadrii the foramen is very close to the sternal margin of the cotyla scapularis. As in most Charadrii, except Burhinidae and Pluvianus, a welldeveloped projection on margo medialis in the sternal part is absent (Mayr, 2011). ...
... Miocene Charadrii are only a little better represented worldwide (Fig. 11) but they are also very fragmentary and often of uncertain affinities within the clade. They include remains mentioned by Ballmann (1972) and Mlíkovský (2002) from France and Czechia, a Haematopus-like skull and two plover-like bones from the early Miocene of France (De Pietri et al., 2013), a species of Charadrius and two specimens of Recurvirostridae (Himantopus olsoni and a representative of Recurvirostra) from the late Miocene-early Pliocene of Arizona (Bickart, 1990), a specimen assigned to Recurvirostra from the middle Miocene of California (Miller, 1961, but see Olson, 1985, Burhinus lucorum from the early Miocene of Nebraska (Bickart, 1981), Chionoides australiensis from the late Oligocene of South Australia (De Pietri et al., 2016), and Neilus sansomae from the early Miocene of New Zealand (De Pietri et al., 2016). More detailed information on the current status of particular charadriiform remains can be found in Mayr, 2005Mayr, , 2009De Pietri et al., 2013;De Pietri & Scofield, 2014; and references therein. ...
Article
A new species, Cherevychnavis umanskae sp. nov., (Aves: Charadriiformes) from the late Miocene of Ukraine is described, and all known fossils of the suborder Charadrii from the Paleogene and Miocene are summarized. The combination of preserved characters allows us to assign the new species to the suborder Charadrii but its more exact systematic position remains uncertain. Morphologically, the new species is most similar to the extant Haematopus and Recurvirostra, and in terms of size to Haematopus, but it clearly differs from all extant genera of Charadrii. The current remains fill the temporal and spatial gaps in the fossil record of charadriiform birds; they constitute the first record of the Charadrii in eastern-most Europe, and add to our still insufficient knowledge of the late Miocene birds.
... Charadriiformes. The shorebirds include at least six taxa (De Pietri et al., 2016a, 2016bWorthy et al., 2017). ...
... De Pietri,Scofield, Hand, Tennyson and Worthy, 2016 represents the sheathbills and Magellanic Plover clade (Chionoidea). There are two additional undescribed taxa likely within Parvorder Charadriida; superfamily Charadrioidea(De Pietri et al., 2016b;Worthy et al., 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
The St Bathans Fauna, from sites near the village of St Bathans, Central Otago, South Island, is the first substantive pre-Quaternary terrestrial vertebrate fossil fauna discovered in New Zealand. This fauna derives from 33 sites or discrete sedimentary beds located in the lower 50 m of the lacustrine Bannockburn Formation, Manuherikia Group, and is generally accepted as local stage Altonian (19– 15.9 Ma; Burdigalian, Early Miocene) in age. Investigations since 2001 have revealed an abundant and diverse fauna from over 9000 catalogued lots that is herein reviewed. Invertebrates notably include eight genera and species of terrestrial molluscs. Among vertebrates, freshwater fish remains dominate with 17 species evidenced by 16,500 analysed otoliths (genera Neochanna, Galaxias, Prototroctes, and Mataichthys) and many thousands of bones. Birds (minimally 45 species, several thousand bones) are the most com- mon non-fish vertebrates, among which waterfowls dominate all assemblages (10 species). Co-occurring with these was a diverse herpetofauna, including undetermined crocodylians and a terrestrial turtle, both absent in Recent faunas. Significantly, the St Bathans Fauna evidences that Zealandia already had all of New Zealand’s ‘old’ endemic Recent taxa (sphenodontids, leiopelmatids, dinornithiforms, apterygids, aptornithids, strigopoid parrots, acanthisittids, and mystacinids) during the Early Miocene. Furthermore, it includes Australasia’s oldest ardeids, two flightless rallids, a novel higher landbird family, a greater diversity of bats, and terrestrial mammals. All sites reflect a single fauna, except that the ducks Manuherikia lacustrina (stratigraphically lower in section) and M. primadividua (higher) have a mutually exclusive distribution that is not yet correlated with any other biotic distribution differences.
... This ridge is however not present in all glareolids-it is absent or poorly defined in species of Glareola (possibly because the medial portion of the acrocoracoid is shorter; Fig. 2f) but is present in species of Cursorius and Rhinoptilus. The ridge is not as well developed as that of some members of the Charadrii, however, in which it overhangs the medial surface of the bone (see De Pietri et al. 2016b). ...
... In Dromas ardeola, the fossa metatarsi I has a similar shape to that of glareolids, but was not well marked in the specimens we examined. A fossa metatarsi I is absent in most representatives of the Charadrii (but see De Pietri et al. 2016b) and Turnicidae (note that a hallux is present in stem group buttonquails, Mayr 2000). ...
Article
The early Miocene charadriiform bird Becassius charadriioides De Pietri and Mayr, 2012, from the Saint-Gérand-le-Puy area in France, was originally described as a member of uncertain affinities within the shorebird clade Scolopaci (jacanas, seedsnipe, painted-snipe, sandpipers, and allies). Following a re-assessment of the material attributed to this taxon and in the context of a larger comparative sample of extinct and extant charadriiform birds, we conclude that it is a member of the Glareolidae (pratincoles and coursers). We also demonstrate that certain elements, such as the coracoid, which were only tentatively referred to B. charadriioides, are very likely to belong to this taxon. We describe for the first time a tarsometatarsus that we tentatively attribute to this species. Based on the morphology of the humerus and other elements, it is not possible to associate Becassius charadriioides with any extant lineage within Glareolidae; it displays a combination of morphological features that can be presumed to be ancestral to Glareolidae based on outgroup comparisons and on the distinctiveness of B. charadriioides among other glareolids. The referral of Becassius charadriioides to Glareolidae bridges a gap in the evolutionary history of the clade, attesting to the presence of members of this clade in Europe during the earliest Miocene. Additionally, we provide a review of the fossil record of Glareolidae and re-assess some of the oldest fossils to have been attributed to this group.
... These features of the proximal and distal humerus are easily distinguished from the condition in most other charadriiform family-level taxa and have been assessed by many authors (e.g. Bock & McEvey 1969;Strauch 1978;Mayr 2000;De Pietri et al. 2011, 2016a, b, 2020aDe Pietri & Mayr 2012;Zelenkov et al. 2016 ...
Article
Buttonquails (Turnicidae) are morphologically derived, quail-like members of the avian order Charadriiformes (shorebirds) that live in Old World dry tropical and subtropical open habitats. The morphological disparity between modern buttonquails and other shorebirds is bridged by Paleogene stem-group turnicids, which have a less specialised morphology. However, there is currently a large temporal gap in the fossil record between the earliest European buttonquails (early Oligocene) and the youngest pre-Quaternary records (late Miocene). Here we describe two new taxa from France, based on partial humeri, which we refer to Turnicidae gen. et sp. indet. The oldest record stems from deposits from the latest Oligocene, which are part of the Saint-Gérand-le-Puy fossil sites. The younger record is from the early-middle Miocene fissure filling of Vieux-Collonges. In morphology, both taxa are more similar to early Oligocene species of Turnipax Mayr, 2000 than to crown-group turnicids. Although the fossils are too fragmentary to allow ecomorphological interpretations, paleoenvironmental data suggest that, like Paleogene buttonquails, these taxa departed from the adaptations to open arid environments by modern-type turnicids. Our assessments therefore reinforce previous hypotheses that crown-group turnicids probably did not diversify before the late Miocene, and argue in favour of broader ecological preferences in stem-group turnicids.
... A large sample of charadriiform bird skeletons was available for this study (e.g. De Pietri et al. 2016a, 2016b. Species in all family-level taxa (e.g. as listed in Dickinson and Remsen 2013) were examined. ...
Article
We describe a new species of lapwing plover from the late Pliocene Kanunka Local Fauna of South Australia (3.6–2.6 mya).Vanellus liffyae sp. nov. is based on an almost complete coracoid, which is most similar in morphology to that of the Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles). Nevertheless, it differs from this species and from the Banded Lapwing (V. tricolor), the only other extant resident Australian species, in size and other morphological details. A monophyletic Australasian group including V. tricolor and the two subspecies of V. miles (i.e. miles and novaehollandiae) had been previously recovered from phenotypic data and is here supported by analyses of COI data. We conclude that, based on the material available for study, Vanellus liffyae sp. nov. is a member of the Australasian clade, which was present in Australia minimally by 3 mya. How Vanellus liffyae sp. nov. relates to the extant taxa within this clade, however, is still unclear. https://rn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:55AE3295-F3D6-40FC-810C-8277A75696E0
... These include crocodilians, terrestrial turtles, flamingo-like palaelodids, swiftlets, several pigeon, parrot and shorebird lineages and non-volant mammals (e.g. 8,9,[31][32][33]36,37 ). Most of these were probably warm-adapted species 8,9,81 . ...
Article
Full-text available
A new genus and species of fossil bat is described from New Zealand's only pre-Pleistocene Cenozoic terrestrial fauna, the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna of Central Otago, South Island. Bayesian total evidence phylogenetic analysis places this new Southern Hemisphere taxon among the burrowing bats (mystacinids) of New Zealand and Australia, although its lower dentition also resembles Africa's endemic sucker-footed bats (myzopodids). As the first new bat genus to be added to New Zealand's fauna in more than 150 years, it provides new insight into the original diversity of chiropterans in Australasia. It also underscores the significant decline in morphological diversity that has taken place in the highly distinctive, semi-terrestrial bat family Mystacinidae since the Miocene. This bat was relatively large, with an estimated body mass of ~40 g, and its dentition suggests it had an omnivorous diet. Its striking dental autapomorphies, including development of a large hypocone, signal a shift of diet compared with other mystacinids, and may provide evidence of an adaptive radiation in feeding strategy in this group of noctilionoid bats.
... The abundant avifauna is dominated by waterfowl (Anseriformes), with a minimum of eight taxa in five genera (Worthy et al. 2007(Worthy et al. , 2008. The avifauna also includes such diverse taxa as moas (Dinornithiformes), a kiwi (Apterygidae), a tubenose (Procellariiformes), birds of prey (Accipitriformes), rails (Rallidae), an endemic gruiform (Aptornithidae), a gull and other waders (Charadriiformes), herons (Ardeidae), a palaelodid (Phoenicopteriformes), pigeons (Columbidae), parrots (Psittaciformes), a swiftlet (Apodidae), an owlet-nightjar (Aegothelidae), and passerines (Passeriformes) (De Pietri et al. 2016a, 2016bWorthy et al. 2007Worthy et al. , 2009aWorthy et al. , 2009bWorthy et al. , 2010aWorthy et al. , 2010bWorthy et al. , 2011aWorthy et al. , 2011bWorthy et al. , 2011cWorthy et al. , 2013aWorthy et al. , 2013bWorthy et al. , 2013cScofield et al. 2010). Fish, frogs, reptiles and mammals are also represented (Worthy et al. 2006(Worthy et al. , 2011d(Worthy et al. , 2013dJones et al. 2009;Lee et al. 2009;Schwarzhans et al. 2012;Hand et al. 2013Hand et al. , 2015. ...
Article
Full-text available
Eight species of terrestrial Mollusca are recorded from Early–Middle Miocene sediments from palaeolake Manuherikia, near St Bathans, central Otago, New Zealand. Five new charopid species are described in Cavellia Iredale, 1915, Charopa Martens, 1860 and Fectola Iredale, 1915, a new genus Dendropa, based on the Recent species Flammulina pilsbryi Suter, 1894, Neophenacohelix Cumber, 1961, which is resurrected from synonymy under Phenacohelix Suter, 1892, and two new species of punctid are described in Paralaoma Iredale, 1913 and Atactolaoma n. gen. All genera involved are endemic to New Zealand and are the first pre-Quaternary records. A rhytidid is also recorded, which, though indeterminable, is the earliest record of the family. The three other confirmed pre-Quaternary (Late Pliocene) records of land snails are briefly discussed.
... Some work on avian fossils shows that this southern-northern dichotomy has ancient roots, e.g. among waders (De Pietri et al. 2016a, 2016b and waterfowl (De Pietri et al. 2016c) and it seems likely that as austral faunas are better revealed this dichotomy will only strengthen. ...
Article
New Zealand, long recognised as a land where birds dominate the terrestrial vertebrate biota, lacked an informative fossil record for the non-marine pre-Pleistocene avifauna until the twenty-first century. Here we review recent research that alters the known diversity of the fossil Paleogene–Neogene birds and our understanding of the origin of New Zealand’s recent or modern biota. Since 2010, there has been a 50% increase in the number of described fossil bird species (now 45) for the pre-Quaternary period. Many represent higher taxa that are new or listed for New Zealand for the first time, including 12 genera (35 total), nine family-level taxa (18 total), and seven ordinal taxa. We also review recent multidisciplinary research integrating DNA and morphological analyses affecting the taxonomic diversity of the Quaternary avifauna and present revised diversity metrics. The Holocene avifauna contained 217 indigenous breeding species (67% endemic) of which 54 (25%) are extinct.
Book
Full-text available
The fifth edition (2022) of the Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand no longer includes birds from Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island, or the Ross Dependency, Antarctica, unless those species also occur in or have reached New Zealand. Since the publication of the 2010 Checklist of the Birds New Zealand, one previously unknown living taxon (a snipe) has been described, an endemic shag has been split into 2 species, 2 endemic subspecies of petrels have been described, and 11 new vagrant species (3 petrels, 1 booby, 1 shag, 1 ibis, 1 sandpiper, 1 gull, 1 pigeon, and 2 passerines) plus one subspecies (a booby) and two named hybrids (a kiwi and a sandpiper) have been accepted as occurring in New Zealand as at Feb. 2022. The Australian little penguin (Eudyptula minor novaehollandiae) has also been recognised as present and breeding in New Zealand, and the American whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus) is here recognised as a full species. One vagrant species (black falcon Falco subniger) has been removed from the New Zealand list, crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans) is now considered to be a failed introduction, and the blue shag (= southern populations of the spotted shag Phalacrocorax punctatus) is no longer recognised as a diagnosable taxon. Royal penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus schlegeli) and Waitaha penguin (Megadyptes antipodes waitaha) are here treated as subspecies rather than full species; and mainland ravens (formerly Corvus antipodum, now Corvus moriorum) are here treated as subspecies of a single species that also occurred on the Chatham Islands, rather than as a full species. The great spotted kiwi (Apteryx maxima) requires this name change, as the type specimens of Apteryx haastii are hybrids between two other species. Eight recently extinct taxa (including two subspecies) have been described or resurrected (2 swans, a duck, 2 penguins, a petrel, a shag, and a parrot), and 30 species that became extinct more than c.
Chapter
The three clades discussed in the following are obtained in varying positions in current phylogenetic analyses, and their inclusion in the present chapter is not meant to reflect close affinities. It should be mentioned, however, that some analyses supported a sister group relationship between the Mirandornithes and the Charadriiformes, and others recovered a clade including the Charadriiformes and the Gruiformes. Some extinct taxa of the Gruiformes are well represented, but the Mirandornithes and Charadriiformes have a rather scant early Paleogene fossil record even though various Mesozoic and early Paleogene fossils were identified as flamingos or “transitional Charadriiformes” by earlier authors.
Thesis
Si de nombreux animaux effectuent des migrations saisonnières, la migration des oiseaux demeure l’une des plus spectaculaires du règne animal et c’est d’abord parce qu’elle fascine les humains que cette migration est la plus étudiée depuis toujours. Mais malgré cet engouement précoce de la communauté scientifique, d’importantes interrogations persistent. Parmi celles-ci, les scénarios biogéographiques qui façonnent la distribution des espèces migratrices ou qui ont conduit des espèces ou des lignées entières à évoluer vers un comportement de migration saisonnière à longue distance restent peu compris.L'objectif de ma thèse était d’aborder ces questions à différents niveaux taxonomiques, afin d’étudier les implications écologiques et évolutives de la migration à longue distance chez les oiseaux. Plus précisément, (1) je me suis d’abord intéressé aux scénarios d’évolution biogéographique et des niches climatiques qui ont conduit à l’émergence de stratégies de migration géographique saisonnière à grande distance. (2) Resserrant le cadre taxonomique aux Charadriiformes, j’ai approfondi mes recherches sur la biogéographie de la migration en abordant la question du rôle de la migration dans les processus de diversification et la mise en place des gradients globaux de biodiversité. Pour mieux comprendre ces mécanismes évolutifs, j’ai également étudié (3) comment l’évolution de la coloration est reliée à l’évolution de stratégies de migration chez les Laridae et (4) l’influence de ces mouvements longues distances sur les autres évènements du cycle annuel chez une espèce d’oiseau marin de l’Arctique. (5) Enfin, à l’échelle intra-spécifique, je me suis penché sur la mise en place de nouvelles voies de migration chez deux de passereaux d’origine sibérienne pour explorer la question des rapides changements de distribution.Dans l'ensemble, les résultats de ces études montrent que les différentes facettes de l'écologie et l'évolution sont fortement intriquées pour comprendre l’évolution du comportement de migration longue distance. Ils montrent également l’importance de confronter plusieurs échelles taxonomiques et plusieurs facteurs, notamment temporels, pour appréhender l’histoire évolutive de ce comportement. Enfin, ils soulignent la difficulté de prévoir les changements de distribution des oiseaux migrateurs dans un contexte de changements globaux.
Article
Full-text available
Vertebrates with terrestrial or freshwater ancestors colonized the sea from the Early Triassic onward and became competitively dominant members of many marine ecosystems throughout the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. The circumstances that led to initial marine colonization have, however, received little attention. One hypothesis is that mass extinction associated with ecosystem collapse provided opportunities for clades of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals to enter marine environments. Another is that competitive pressures in donor ecosystems on land and in freshwater, coupled with abundant food in nearshore marine habitats, favored marine colonization. Here we test these hypotheses by compiling all known secondarily marine amniote clades and their times of colonization. Marine amniotes are defined as animals whose diet consists primarily of marine organisms and whose locomotion includes swimming, diving, or wading in salt water. We compared the number of clades entering during recovery phases from mass extinctions with the rate of entry of clades during nonrecovery intervals of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. We conservatively identify 69 marine colonizations by amniotes. The only recovery interval for which prior mass extinction could have been a trigger for marine entry is the Early Triassic, when four clades colonized the sea over 7 Myr, significantly above the rates at which clades entered during other intervals. High nearshore productivity was a greater enticement to colonization than was a low diversity of potential marine competitors or predators in nearshore environments of a highly competitive terrestrial or freshwater donor biota. Rates of marine entry increased during the Cenozoic, in part because of rising productivity and in part thanks to the participation of warm-blooded birds and mammals, which broadened the range of thermal environments in which initial colonization of the sea became possible.
Article
Eight species of terrestrial Mollusca are recorded from Early–Middle Miocene sediments from palaeolake Manuherikia, near St Bathans, central Otago, New Zealand. Five new charopid species are described in Cavellia Iredale, 1915, Charopa Martens, 1860 and Fectola Iredale, 1915, a new genus Dendropa, based on the Recent species Flammulina pilsbryi Suter, 1894, Neophenacohelix Cumber, 1961, which is resurrected from synonymy under Phenacohelix Suter, 1892, and two new species of punctid are described in Paralaoma Iredale, 1913 and Atactolaoma n. gen. All genera involved are endemic to New Zealand and are the first pre-Quaternary records. A rhytidid is also recorded, which, though indeterminable, is the earliest record of the family. The three other confirmed pre-Quaternary (Late Pliocene) records of land snails are briefly discussed.
Article
Full-text available
The four species of ''river dolphins'' are associated with six separate great river systems on three subcontinents and have been grouped for more than a century into a single taxon based on their similar appearance. However, several morphologists recently questioned the monophyly of that group. By using phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequences from three mitochondrial and two nuclear genes, we demonstrate with statistical significance that extant river dolphins are not monophyletic and suggest that they are relict species whose adaptation to riverine habitats incidentally insured their survival against major environmental changes in the marine ecosystem or the emergence of Delphinidae.
Article
Full-text available
Presbyornithids were the dominant birds in Palaeogene lacustrine assemblages, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, but are thought to have disappeared worldwide by the mid-Eocene. Now classified within Anseriformes (screamers, ducks, swans and geese), their relationships have long been obscured by their strange wader-like skeletal morphology. Reassessment of the late Oligocene South Australian material attributed to Wilaru tedfordi, long considered to be of a stone-curlew (Burhinidae, Charadriiformes), reveals that this taxon represents the first record of a presbyornithid in Australia. We also describe the larger Wilaru prideauxi sp. nov. from the early Miocene of South Australia, showing that presbyornithids survived in Australia at least until ca 22 Ma. Unlike on other continents, where presbyornithids were replaced by aquatic crown-group anatids (ducks, swans and geese), species of Wilaru lived alongside these waterfowl in Australia. The morphology of the tarsometatarsus of these species indicates that, contrary to other presbyornithids, they were predominantly terrestrial birds, which probably contributed to their longterm survival in Australia. The morphological similarity between species of Wilaru and the Eocene South American presbyornithid Telmabates antiquus supports our hypothesis of a Gondwanan radiation during the evolutionary history of the Presbyornithidae. Teviornis gobiensis from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia is here also reassessed and confirmed as a presbyornithid. These findings underscore the temporal continuance of Australia’s vertebrates and provide a new context in which the phylogeny and evolutionary history of presbyornithids can be examined.
Article
Full-text available
Although reconstruction of the phylogeny of living birds has progressed tremendously in the last decade, the evolutionary history of Neoaves-a clade that encompasses nearly all living bird species-remains the greatest unresolved challenge in dinosaur systematics. Here we investigate avian phylogeny with an unprecedented scale of data: >390,000 bases of genomic sequence data from each of 198 species of living birds, representing all major avian lineages, and two crocodilian outgroups. Sequence data were collected using anchored hybrid enrichment, yielding 259 nuclear loci with an average length of 1,523 bases for a total data set of over 7.8 × 10(7) bases. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses yielded highly supported and nearly identical phylogenetic trees for all major avian lineages. Five major clades form successive sister groups to the rest of Neoaves: (1) a clade including nightjars, other caprimulgiforms, swifts, and hummingbirds; (2) a clade uniting cuckoos, bustards, and turacos with pigeons, mesites, and sandgrouse; (3) cranes and their relatives; (4) a comprehensive waterbird clade, including all diving, wading, and shorebirds; and (5) a comprehensive landbird clade with the enigmatic hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) as the sister group to the rest. Neither of the two main, recently proposed Neoavian clades-Columbea and Passerea-were supported as monophyletic. The results of our divergence time analyses are congruent with the palaeontological record, supporting a major radiation of crown birds in the wake of the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-Pg) mass extinction.
Article
Full-text available
The remarkable fauna of Australia evolved in isolation from other landmasses for millions of years, yet understanding the evolutionary history of endemic avian lineages on the continent is confounded by the ability of birds to disperse over geographical barriers even after vicariance events. The Plains-wanderer Pedionomus torquatus (Charadriiformes) is an enigmatic, predominantly sedentary, quail-like bird that occurs exclusively in sparse native grasslands of southeastern Australia. It is the only known species of its family (Pedionomidae), and its closest relatives are the South American seedsnipes (Thinocoridae). Here we describe a further representative of this lineage, Oligonomus milleri gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Oligocene of South Australia (26–24 Ma), which pre-dates the earliest record of P. torquatus by c. 22 Ma and attests to the presence of this lineage during Australia's period of isolation (50–15 Ma). Based on the morphology of the coracoid and the palynological record, we propose that O. milleri and P. torquatus were ecologically disparate taxa and that, similar to coeval marsupials, O. milleri inhabited well-wooded habitats, suggesting that the preference for grassland in the extant P. torquatus and thinocorids is likely to be convergent and not ancestral. The speciation event leading to the evolution of the extant Plains-wanderer was probably triggered by the spread of grasslands across Australia in the Late Miocene–Pliocene, which this record pre-dates. The presence of a pedionomid in the Late Oligocene of Australia strengthens the hypothesis of a Gondwanan divergence of the lineages giving rise to Thinocoridae and Pedionomidae.
Article
Full-text available
The earliest fossil record of the Megapodiidae is from the Pliocene; most records are from the Quaternary. A recently identi-fied megapode from late Oligocene deposits at Lake Pinpa, central Australia, is older than any previously reported megapode taxon and is only about two-thirds the size of the smallest living species. It probably inhabited riparian forests bordered by tropical savanna woodland in the Oligocene environment of Lake Pinpa, occupying a role similar to that of the Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Megapodius reinwardt Dumont, in tropical Australia today. Although the new fossil confirms the presence of the Megapodiidae in Australia as early as the late Oligocene, it provides no information on the ori-gins and relationships of the family, or on the evolution of its dis-tinctive method of incubation.
Article
Full-text available
Puffins, auks and their allies in the wing-propelled diving seabird clade Pan-Alcidae (Charadriiformes) have been proposed to be key pelagic indicators of faunal shifts in Northern Hemisphere oceans. However, most previous phylogenetic analyses of the clade have focused only on the 23 extant alcid species. Here we undertake a combined phylogenetic analysis of all previously published molecular sequence data (∼ 12 kb) and morphological data (n = 353 characters) with dense species level sampling that also includes 28 extinct taxa. We present a new estimate of the patterns of diversification in the clade based on divergence time estimates that include a previously vetted set of twelve fossil calibrations. The resultant time trees are also used in the evaluation of previously hypothesized paleoclimatic drivers of pan-alcid evolution. Our divergence dating results estimate the split of Alcidae from its sister taxon Stercorariidae during the late Eocene (∼ 35 Ma), an evolutionary hypothesis for clade origination that agrees with the fossil record and that does not require the inference of extensive ghost lineages. The extant dovekie Alle alle is identified as the sole extant member of a clade including four extinct Miocene species. Furthermore, whereas an Uria + Alle clade has been previously recovered from molecular analyses, the extinct diversity of closely related Miocepphus species yields morphological support for this clade. Our results suggest that extant alcid diversity is a function of Miocene diversification and differential extinction at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary. The relative timing of the Middle Miocene climatic optimum and the Pliocene–Pleistocene climatic transition and major diversification and extinction events in Pan-Alcidae, respectively, are consistent with a potential link between major paleoclimatic events and pan-alcid cladogenesis.
Article
Full-text available
During the Middle Miocene climate transition about 14 million years ago, the Antarctic ice sheet expanded to near-modern volume. Surprisingly, this ice sheet growth was accompanied by a warming in the surface waters of the Southern Ocean, whereas a slight deep-water temperature increase was delayed by more than 200 thousand years. Here we use a coupled atmosphere-ocean model to assess the relative effects of changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration and ice sheet growth on regional and global temperatures. In the simulations, changes in the wind field associated with the growth of the ice sheet induce changes in ocean circulation, deep-water formation and sea-ice cover that result in sea surface warming and deep-water cooling in large swaths of the Atlantic and Indian ocean sectors of the Southern Ocean. We interpret these changes as the dominant ocean surface response to a 100-thousand-year phase of massive ice growth in Antarctica. A rise in global annual mean temperatures is also seen in response to increased Antarctic ice surface elevation. In contrast, the longer-term surface and deep-water temperature trends are dominated by changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration. We therefore conclude that the climatic and oceanographic impacts of the Miocene expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet are governed by a complex interplay between wind field, ocean circulation and the sea-ice system.
Article
Full-text available
A new emu (Emuarius guljaruba, sp. nov.) is described from the Late Oligocene Etadunna Formation (Ngama Local Fauna), based on a complete tarsometatarsus. While exhibiting evidence of cursorial abilities advanced over those of cassowaries (Casuarius), this taxon was not as cursorially adapted as the living Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). This taxon is provisionally referred to the genus Emuarius, although a definite generic assignment cannot be made.
Article
Full-text available
Among Charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies), Charadrii (plovers and allies) have the poorest fossil record. The lacustrine, early Miocene deposits of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy in France have yielded several charadriiform birds, but so far no members of the Charadrii. We identified a Haematopus (oystercatcher)-like skull from the early Miocene locality of Montaigu-le-Blin, in the Saint-Gérand-le-Puy area. Affinities to extant Haematopodidae are, apart from an overall similarity, supported by two features of the occipital region not present in any other of the examined charadriiforms. The fossil nevertheless differs from recent oystercatchers in some osteological features, including much shallower temporal fossae. Additionally, we report two fossil remains of plover-like Charadrii, a humerus and a tarsometatarsus, which also represent the first record of this charadriiform clade in Saint-Gérand-le-Puy. The specimens resemble the corresponding bones of Charadriidae but a definitive assignment to that taxon is not possible.
Chapter
Full-text available
The origins, evolution and palaeodiversity of Australia’s unique marsupial fauna are reviewed. Australia’s marsupial fauna is both taxonomically and ecologically diverse comprising four extant orders Dasyuromorphia, Peramelemorphia, Notoryctemorphia and Diprotodontia) and one extinct order Yalkaparidontia). Molecular divergence dates estimate a Palaeocene origin for the Australian marsupial orders yet ordinal differentiation is obscured by significant gaps in the fossil record with a single terrestrial mammal-bearing deposit known between the late Cretaceous and the late Oligocene. This deposit, the 55 million-year-old early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna of southeastern Queensland, contains Australia’s oldest marsupial (Superorder Australidelphia) as well as taxa tentatively interpreted to represent South American groups (Order Polydolopimorphia). Palaeobiogeographic hypotheses regarding the distribution and interordinal relationships of Australian and South American marsupials are discussed. Dasyuromorphia and Peramelemorphia were possibly also present in the early Eocene, Diprotodontia in at least the late Oligocene and Notoryctemorphia and Yalkaparidontia in the early Miocene. Palaeobiodiversity was highest during the early to middle Miocene as evidenced by a spectacular array of marsupial groups in the rainforest assemblages of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. The onset of icehouse conditions during the middle Miocene saw significant faunal turnover with loss of many archaic groups and the emergence of a range of modern lineages. Few deposits of late Miocene age are known. Development of Australia’s first grasslands and arid habitats occurred in the Pliocene, accompanied by an explosive radiation of grazing kangaroos. The Pleistocene was characterised by severe and unpredictable climatic conditions and the extinction of the Australian megafauna. Lowered sea levels allowed faunal interchange between mainland Australia and neighbouring New Guinea as well as the arrival of the first humans. Resolution of the role of humans and/or climate change in megafaunal extinction requires more precise dating of late Pleistocene deposits. We reflect on the predictive power of the fossil record to enhance understanding of the effects of climate change and humans on the future of the Australian marsupial fauna.
Article
Full-text available
New Zealand’s first pre-Pleistocene mystacinid bat fossils have been recovered from early Miocene sediments of the Manuherikia Group near St. Bathans, Central Otago. Mystacinidae, which belongs to the Gondwanan bat superfamily Noctilionoidea, is the only living mammalian family endemic to New Zealand, although its distribution included Australia in at least the Oligo-Miocene. The only member of the family definitely surviving is the peculiar walking bat Mystacina tuberculata. The St. Bathans mystacinid fossils consist of isolated teeth and postcranial fragments that appear to represent two new taxa of similar size and functional morphology (dental and wing) to Quaternary mystacinids. They suggest an Australasian mystacinid radiation now numbering at least eight species: four from New Zealand and four from Australia. The St. Bathans fossils demonstrate that mystacinids have been in New Zealand for at least 19–16 Ma and signal the longest fossil record for an endemic lineage of island bats anywhere in the world. They add to the list of endemic vertebrate lineages present in Zealandia by the early Miocene, including leiopelmatid frogs, sphenodontids, acanthisittid wrens, adzebills, moa, and kiwi.
Article
Full-text available
Field work recently completed in the Lake Eyre Basin, South Australia, has resulted in the development of a land mammal (marsupial) biostratigraphy of the Etadunna Formation. Whereas traditional interpretations of the age of this sequence suggest it is about 15 m.y. old, new information indicates that the Etadunna likely is 24–26 m.y. old. In either case, it appears possible to document a four-fold fossil mammal zonation of this rock unit at lakes Palankarinna, Kanunka, Pitikanta, and Ngapakaldi, in a composite section of strata that spans at least 30 m. Magnetostratigraphic data for the same succession are generally consistent with the correlation of the Etadunna Formation sites at Lake Palankarinna with of those at lakes Kanunka, Pitikanta, and Ngapakaldi to the north, as based on paleontological information. The magnetic polarity zonation of these Etadunna Formation strata is consistent with a correlation to the world magnetic polarity time scale at about 24–26 m.y. This is the first fine-scale zonation based on fossil land mammals for strata of late Oligocene age in Australia. The combined mammal and magnetic data show promise of developing the Etadunna Formation as a reference standard for land mammal correlations within Australia and the relation of these to land mammal zonations beyond the Australian continent.
Article
Full-text available
Relative contributions of ice volume and temperature change to the global ∼1‰ δ18O increase at ∼14 Ma are required for understanding feedbacks involved in this major Cenozoic climate transition. A 3-ma benthic foraminifer Mg/Ca record of Southern Ocean temperatures across the middle Miocene climate transition reveals ∼2 ± 2°C cooling (14.2–13.8 Ma), indicating that ∼70% of the increase relates to ice growth. Seawater δ18O, calculated from Mg/Ca and δ18O, suggests that at ∼15 Ma Antarctica's cryosphere entered an interval of apparent eccentricity-paced expansion. Glaciations increased in intensity, revealing a central role for internal climate feedbacks. Comparison of ice volume and ocean temperature records with inferred pCO2 levels indicates that middle Miocene cryosphere expansion commenced during an interval of Southern Ocean warmth and low atmospheric pCO2. The Antarctic system appears sensitive to changes in heat/moisture supply when atmospheric pCO2 was low, suggesting the importance of internal feedbacks in this climate transition.
Article
Full-text available
Three species of gull-like birds were described by Milne-Edwards in the 19th century from the early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France, two of which have been since then moved to the genus Laricola. These fossils are redescribed and revised in the present study. We further describe two new species of the taxon Laricola, L. intermedia, sp. nov., and L. robusta, sp. nov., as well as two species of a new taxon Sternalara, S. minuta and S. milneedwardsi, thus substantially increasing the number of charadriiform taxa known from this locality. To find out how Laricola relates to modern taxa, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of 41 osteological characters, which resulted in Laricola being placed outside of Laridae, as early representatives of the newly designated group Laromorphae, which encompasses terns, gulls, and skimmers. The results of our analysis have additionally enabled us to evaluate relationships between extant taxa of the Laromorphae.
Article
Full-text available
Abundant fossil bird bones from the lower Bannockburn Formation, Manuherikia Group, an Early-Middle Miocene lacustrine deposit, 16–19 Ma, from Otago in New Zealand, reveal the “St Bathans Fauna” (new name), a first Tertiary avifauna of land and freshwater birds from New Zealand. At least 23 species of birds are represented by bones, and probable moa, Aves: Dinornithiformes, by eggshell. Anatids dominate the fauna with four genera and five species described as new: a sixth and largest anatid species is represented by just one bone. This is the most diverse Early-Middle Miocene duck fauna known worldwide. Among ducks, two species of dendrochenines are most numerous in the fauna, but a tadornine is common as well. A diving petrel (Pelecanoididae: Pelecanoides) is described, so extending the geological range of this genus worldwide from the Pliocene to the Middle Miocene, at least. The remaining 16 taxa are left undescribed but include: a large species of gull (Laridae); two small waders (Charadriiformes, genus indet.), the size of Charadrius bicinctus and Calidris ruficollis, respectively; a gruiform represented by one specimen similar to Aptornis; abundant rail (Rallidae) bones, including a common flightless rail and a rarer slightly larger taxon, about the size of Gallirallus philippensis; an ?eagle (Accipitridae); a pigeon (Columbidae); three parrots (Psittacidae); an owlet nightjar (Aegothelidae: Aegotheles sp.); a swiftlet (Apodidae: Collocalia sp.); and three passerine taxa, of which the largest is a member of the Cracticidae. The absence of some waterbirds, such as anserines (including swans), grebes (Podicipedidae) and shags (Phalacrocoracidae), among the abundant bones, indicates their probable absence from New Zealand in the Early-Middle Miocene.
Article
Full-text available
Fish remains described from the early Miocene lacustrine Bannockburn Formation of Central Otago, New Zealand, consist of several thousand otoliths and one skeleton plus another disintegrated skull. One species, Mataichthys bictenatus Schwarzhans, Scofield, Tennyson, and T. Worthy gen. et sp. nov., an eleotrid, is established on a skeleton with otoliths in situ. The soft embedding rock and delicate, three−dimensionally preserved fish bones were studied by CT−scanning technology rather than physical preparation, except where needed to extract the otolith. Fourteen species of fishes are described, 12 new to science and two in open nomenclature, representing the families Galaxiidae (Galaxias angustiventris, G. bobmcdowalli, G. brevicauda, G. papilionis, G. parvirostris, G. tabidus), Retropinnidae (Prototroctes modestus, P. vertex), and Eleotridae (Mataichthys bictenatus, M. procerus, M. rhinoceros, M. taurinus). These findings prove that most of the current endemic New Zealand/southern Australia freshwater fish fauna was firmly established in New Zealand as early as 19–16 Ma ago. Most fish species indicate the presence of large fishes, in some cases larger than Recent species of related taxa, for instance in the eleotrid genus Mataichthys when compared to the extant Gobiomorphus. The finding of a few otoliths from marine fishes corroborates the age determination of the Bannockburn Formation as the Altonian stage of the New Zealand marine Tertiary stratigraphy
Article
Full-text available
A single fossil tarsometatarsus from the Etadunna Formation, of Late Oligocene-Early Miocene age, at the Snake Dam Locality in South Australia reveals the first pre-Pliocene record of anhingids in Australia. Anhinga walterbolesi sp. nov. provides the oldest record globally for the Anhingidae and, with the contemporary presence of stem-group phalacrocoracids in the same formation, indicates a probable Early Oligocene to Eocene age for the common ancestor of anhingids and phalacrocoracids. Received 15 September 2011, accepted 16 December 2011.
Article
Although reconstruction of the phylogeny of living birds has progressed tremendously in the last decade, the evolutionary history of Neoaves—a clade that encompasses nearly all living bird species—remains the greatest unresolved challenge in dinosaur systematics. Here we investigate avian phylogeny with an unprecedented scale of data: >390,000 bases of genomic sequence data from each of 198 species of living birds, representing all major avian lineages, and two crocodilian outgroups. Sequence data were collected using anchored hybrid enrichment, yielding 259 nuclear loci with an average length of 1,523 bases for a total data set of over 7.8 × 10⁷ bases. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses yielded highly supported and nearly identical phylogenetic trees for all major avian lineages. Five major clades form successive sister groups to the rest of Neoaves: (1) a clade including nightjars, other caprimulgiforms, swifts, and hummingbirds; (2) a clade uniting cuckoos, bustards, and turacos with pigeons, mesites, and sandgrouse; (3) cranes and their relatives; (4) a comprehensive waterbird clade, including all diving, wading, and shorebirds; and (5) a comprehensive landbird clade with the enigmatic hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) as the sister group to the rest. Neither of the two main, recently proposed Neoavian clades—Columbea and Passerea—were supported as monophyletic. The results of our divergence time analyses are congruent with the palaeontological record, supporting a major radiation of crown birds in the wake of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) mass extinction.
Article
Bats (Chiroptera) are generally considered to be monophyletic based on morphological and molecular data (Simmons, 1998; Gunnell and Simmons, 2005; Teeling et al., 2005), but the relationships among the families, especially extinct families, are not well resolved (Simmons and Geisler, 1998; Gunnell and Simmons, 2005). Recent molecular phylogenetic work suggests that one group of bats, the Noctilionoidea, consists of a monophyletic clade including at least the families Mystacinidae, Mormoopidae, Noctilionidae and Phyllostomidae (Pierson et al., 1986; Kirsch et al., 1998; Kennedy et al., 1999; Van Den Bussche and Hoofer, 2000; Teeling et al., 2003; Hutcheon and Kirsch, 2004), and probably also the families Thyropteridae, Furipteridae and Myzopodidae (Hoofer et al., 2003; Van Den Bussche and Hoofer, 2004; Teeling et al., 2005; Miller-Butterworth et al., 2007), although Hoofer et al. (2003) explicitly excluded Myzopodidae. Gunnell and Simmons (2005) found morphological data supporting a more restricted Noctilionoidea composed of the first four families, Mystacinidae, Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae and Mormoopidae, but which is sister to a clade composed of Myzopodidae, Thyropteridae, Furipteridae and Natalidae. Early fossils of noctilionoid bats are scarce; reviewed below are some pre-Pleistocene records of noctilionoids and putative noctilionoids as fossils. The oldest Paleogene bat fossils known from South America are two isolated teeth from the Early Eocene of Chubut, Argentina, that could potentially represent a noctilionoid (Tejedor et al., 2005, 2009), but the specimens are actually insufficient to realize the phylogenetic affinities of the taxon they exemplify. A possible ?bat represented by a single broken tooth of uncertain but possibly Eocene age from Santa Rosa, Peru, has a dental character rather similar to one that is unique to noctilionids, but this specimen, too, is unsubstantial (Czaplewski and Campbell, 2004).
Article
An endemic and previously unknown lineage of shorebirds (Charadriiformes: Scolopaci) is described from early Miocene (19–16 Ma) deposits of New Zealand. Hakawai melvillei gen. et sp. nov. represents the first pre-Quaternary record of the clade in New Zealand and offers the earliest evidence of Australasian breeding for any member of the Scolopaci. Hakawai melvillei was a representative of the clade that comprises the South American seedsnipes (Thinocoridae) and the Australian Plains-wanderer (Pedionomidae), and presumed derived features of its postcranial skeleton indicate a sister taxon relationship to Australian pedionomids. Our findings reinforce that terrestrial adaptations in seedsnipes and the Plains-wanderer are convergent as previously proposed, and support an ancestral wading ecology for the clade. Although vicariance events may have contributed to the split between pedionomids and H. melvillei, the proposed sister taxon relationship between these taxa indicates that the split of this lineage from thinocorids must have occurred independently from Australia and Zealandia's separation from the rest of Gondwana.
Article
We describe novel material of a small fossil burhinid (Stone-curlew, thick-knee; Aves: Charadriiformes) from the late Oligocene (ca 23 Ma) of Coderet-Bransat in the Allier Basin of central France. This site is one of the renowned Saint-Gérand-le-Puy fossil localities, which have yielded thousands of fossil bird specimens. This is the first record of the Burhinidae to be described from Paleogene and Neogene deposits of Europe, and, together with the late Oligocene–early Miocene burhinid from Australia, are the earliest records worldwide. Although Genucrassum bransatensis gen. et sp. nov. differs from extant burhinids in some presumably plesiomorphic features of the humerus and carpometacarpus, we show that the postcranial elements considered here are remarkably uniform within Burhinidae even in late Oligocene taxa.
Conference Paper
Benthic foraminifer ( Cibicidoides mundulus) magnesium/calcium data from the Southern Ocean reveal a ~2°C cooling of regional bottom waters during the middle Miocene climate transition (14.2-13.8 Ma), which indicates that the globally recognized ~10/00 delta18O increase (~14 Ma) describes a major expansion of the Antarctic cryosphere. A record of seawater delta18O, calculated using paired C. mundulus Mg/Ca and delta18O records, suggests that Antarctic ice sheets entered an interval of eccentricity-modulated glacial advance and retreat at ~15 Ma, approximately one million years before the ~10/00 middle Miocene delta18O increase. Glacial episodes increased in intensity between ~15 and 13.8 Ma, revealing a central role for internal climate feedbacks in this major Cenozoic climate transition. Comparison of ice volume, paleotemperature, and paleo-pCO2 records indicates that middle Miocene expansion of the Antarctic cryosphere coincided with an interval of relatively warm Southern Ocean waters and inferred low atmospheric pCO2. This relationship confirms that changes in heat and moisture transport were important in the development of the Antarctic cryosphere and that atmospheric pCO2 concentrations may dictate the sensitivity of the Antarctic system to low-latitude-derived heat and moisture.
Article
Skeletal elements of the extinct family Palaelodidae have only been recorded from Australia since 1982. We describe Palaelodus pledgei n. sp. and P. wilsoni n. sp., two new species of palaelodid from Cooper Creek, and Lakes Palankarinna, Pinpa and Yanda in northern South Australia. The material differs from European species in both mensural and morphological characters and constitutes the smallest and the largest species in the genus. These species clearly belong in the genus Palaelodus, rather than Megapaloelodus, based upon the gracile nature of the elements.Palaelodus wilsoni extends the chronological range of the family to the Middle Pleistocene. Owing to differences in the European and Australian species the material is considered to be of little use in intercontinental correlation. Palaeoenvironmental factors responsible for the extinction of the Palaelodidae in Australia may be similar to those speculated for the Phoenicopteridae, namely the loss of lake full levels at the end of the Pleistocene, concomitant with the onset of late Pleistocene aridity.
Article
The upper dentition of two Australian early Miocene mystacinids, Icarops paradox and I. aenae, from Riversleigh, Queensland, are described for the first time. Also recognised is a late Oligocene mystacinid from Lake Palankarinna, South Australia. The new fossils help refine understanding about the evolutionary history of mystacinids in Australia, including their temporal and geographical range, possible dietary and roosting habits, and likely separation time of New Zealand mystacinids. (c) 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.
Article
Two new genera and species of shorebirds from the early Oligocene of Céreste (France) are described;both are represented by posteranial skeletons. Turnipox dissipata nov. gen. et sp. is classified within the new family Turnipacidae, and is distinguished from all Recent Charadriiformes by the relatively smaller extremitas omalis of the coracoid and the shape of the alae ischii. With respect to these features Turnipax dissipata closely resembles Recent Turnicidae (buttonquails). Another charadriiform bird from Céreste is described as Cerestenia pulchrapenna nov. gen. et sp. and has been assigned to the Turnipacidae only tentatively. Cerestenia pulchrapenna has a stouter carpometacarpus than all Recent Charadriiformes. An unnamed charadriiform bird from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Hessen, Germany) is described, which provides the most substantial record of an Eocene charadriiform bird and the first shorebird from Messel.
Article
New Zealand's short‐tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata Gray, 1843) feeds on fruit, insects, and possibly nectar in North Island kauri (Agathis australis) forest. Fruits eaten by members of a colony of 500 bats in May included those of Freycinetia baueriana (Pandanaceae), Collospermum hastatum, and C. microspermum (Liliaceae). Pollen analyses of bat guano, and of the stomach contents of 4 short‐tailed bats from Omahuta Forest (Lat. 35°10'S) and 3 from Stewart Island and adjacent islands (Lat. 47°15'S), showed that most of the pollen was from flowers of Metrosideros and Leptospermum (Myrtaceae), Knightia excelsa (Proteaceae), and Collospermum, and that spores of the tree fern Cyathea (Cyatheaceae) were present also. Both Metrosideros and Knightia have abundant nectar. The partially extensile tongue of Mystacina is tipped with a brush of fine papillae, possibly to extract nectar and pollen; but the pollen and spores in the bat stomachs and guano could have come from insects eaten by the bats. Transverse ridges on the tongue may assist removal of juice from ripe fruits. These bats may disperse the small seeds of Freycinetia baueriana. The anatomical modifications of Mystacina for terrestrial and arboreal locomotion may have evolved primarily in response to its frugivorous and suspected nectarivorous habits.
Article
Schweizer, M., Güntert, M. & Hertwig, S. T. (2012). Out of the Bassian province: historical biogeography of the Australasian platycercine parrots (Aves, Psittaciformes). — Zoologica Scripta , 42 , 13–27. Aridification from mid‐Miocene onwards led to a fragmentation of mesic biomes in Australia and an expansion of arid habitats. This influenced the diversification of terrestrial organisms, and the general direction of their radiations is supposed to have been from mesic into drier habitats. We tested this hypothesis in the platycercine parrots that occur in different habitats in Australia and also colonized Pacific islands. We inferred their temporal and spatial diversification patterns using a Bayesian relaxed molecular clock approach based on three nuclear and two mitochondrial genes and model‐based biogeographic reconstructions. The Bassian biota was found to be the centre of origin of platycercine parrots and diversification within two of their three clades coincided with the beginning of aridification of Australia. The associated habitat changes may have catalysed their radiation through adaptation to arid environments and vicariance because of the fragmentation of non‐arid habitats. The small oceanic islands of Melanesia contributed as stepping stones for the colonization of New Zealand from Australia.
Article
‘Totanus’lartetianus, Elorius paludicola and ‘Tringa’gracilis are the three scolopacid birds from the early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy described by the French palaeontologist Milne-Edwards in the 19th century. Since then, no revision of these taxa has been performed. Our re-examination revealed that not much of the material originally assigned to ‘Totanus’lartetianus can be retained within the species. Presumably plesiomorphic features of the humerus – and potentially the coracoid we attributed to this taxon – indicate that it is misplaced in the extant scolopacid genus and may not even belong to the Scolopacidae (sandpipers and allies), and we therefore place it in the new genus Scolopacimilis. Comparisons of the material assigned to Elorius paludicola and ‘Tringa’gracilis show that they are morphologically similar, both exhibiting distinct scolopacid anatomical features. The latter, however, cannot be referred to the extant taxon Tringa and is classified into the new genus Parvelorius. We further introduce three new species, ?Elorius limosoides sp. nov., and ?Parvelorius calidris sp. nov., which we have tentatively assigned to the extinct scolopacid genera Elorius and Parvelorius, respectively, and Becassius charadriioides gen. et. sp. nov., which, together with Scolopacimilis, display a morphology uncharacteristic for extant Scolopaci. For the first time we have assigned skulls to some of the postcranial elements described in this study. The presence of at least six species of Scolopaci from the early Miocene considerably increases the number of members of the group known from this time.
Article
A new species of thick-knee, Burhinus lucorum, is described from the early Miocene (Sheep Creek Formation, late Hemingfordian) of Nebraska, providing the first Tertiary record of the family. Contrary to the widely held view that thick-knees are necessarily indicative of dry, sparsely vegetated country, the extant species of Burhinidae in fact live in a broad range of habitats. Thus, the use of extinct species of Burhinidae as paleoclimatological indicators is compromised. Evidence from other sources on early Miocene climates is summarized and suggests that Burhinus lucorum may have inhabited stream-side woodlands.
Article
Tertiary cormorant fossils (Aves: Phalacrocoracidae) from Late Oligocene deposits in Australia are described. They derive from the Late Oligocene – Early Miocene (26–24 Mya) Etadunna and Namba Formations in the Lake Eyre and Lake Frome Basins, South Australia, respectively. A new genus, Nambashag gen. nov., with two new species (Nambashag billerooensis sp. nov., 30 specimens; Nambashag microglaucus sp. nov., 14 specimens), has been established. Phylogenetic analyses based on 113 morphological and two integumentary characters indicated that Nambashag is the sister taxon to the Early Miocene Nectornis miocaenus of Europe and all extant phalacrocoracids. As Nambashag, Nectornis, and extant phalacrocoracids constitute a strongly supported clade sister to Anhinga species, the fossil taxa have been referred to Phalacrocoracidae. Sulids and Fregata were successive sister taxa to the Phalacrocoracoidea, i.e. phalacrocoracids + Anhinga. As phalacrocoracids lived in both Europe and Australia during the Late Oligocene and no older phalacrocoracid taxa are known, the biogeographical origin of cormorants remains unanswered. The phylogenetic relationships of extant taxa were not wholly resolved, but contrary to previous morphological analyses, considerable concordance was found with relationships recovered by recent molecular analyses. Microcarbo is sister to all other extant phalacrocoracids, and all Leucocarbo species form a well-supported clade.© 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 163, 277–314.
Article
There are two microchiropteran bat species in New Zealand: the long-tailed bat Chalinolobus tuberculatus and the short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata. Both species coexist on Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. In this study we examined the diet of M. tuberculata, and the activity levels of both bat species associated with Metrosideros excelsa, a native flowering plant and potential nectar source, on Little Barrier Island. Between November 1994 and February 1996, M. tuberculata were caught in mist-nets, and their faecal pellets were collected for later dietary analysis. In addition, pollen samples were collected from the fur of bats caught during December 1995 and January 1996. Faecal analysis showed that M. tuberculata on Little Barrier Island exhibits a high degree of omnivory, with its diet comprising flying and non-flying arthropods, and also pollen and other plant material. During December 1995 and January 1996, the activity levels of both bat species associated with flowering and non-flowering M. excelsa trees were investigated by recording bat echolocation calls with automatic detecting and recording units. Significantly higher numbers of M. tuberculata echolocation calls were recorded near flowering M. excelsa trees than near non-flowering ones, whereas the numbers of C. tuberculatus calls did not differ significantly between flowering and non-flowering trees. These results contribute further to the existing evidence for nectarivory in M. tuberculata.
Article
A new species of the charadriiform taxon Turnipax Mayr, 2000 is described from the Lower Oligocene fossil site Frauenweiler in southern Germany. The postcranial skeleton assigned to Turnipax oechslerorum sp. nov. is very well preserved and allows the recognition of significant, previously unknown osteological details of Turnipax, especially concerning the wing and pectoral girdle bones. We provide evidence that Turnipax is a stem lineage representative of the Turnicidae (buttonquails) and synonymize Turnipacidae Mayr, 2000 with Turnicidae Gray, 1840. Turnipax is the earliest fossil representative of the Turnicidae, which otherwise have no Paleogene fossil record. Because recent molecular studies support a charadriiform origin of buttonquails, the mosaic distribution in the skeleton of Turnipax of derived features of the Turnicidae and non-turnicid charadriiform birds is of particular interest. Turnipax exhibits a more plesiomorphic morphology than extant Turnicidae, and we assume that its habitat and way of living differed from that of crown group Turnicidae, which may not have diversified before the spread of grasslands during the Oligocene and Miocene.
Article
Australia has not always been arid, and the central desert was once well watered. This paper traces the changes in climate and vegetation, leading to the present aridity. At the beginning of the Cenozoic, continental Australia had a warm and humid climate, and the vegetation was mainly meso–micro-thermal (warm to cool temperate) rainforest. Central Australia experienced seasonal rainfall and there may have been limited aridity in the northwest. By the mid–late Eocene, rainforest in central Australia was restricted to the well-watered valley bottoms, with sclerophyll vegetation on the slopes and ridges. In the latest Eocene–earliest Oligocene, there was an abrupt cooling of ocean waters and the diversity of megathermal angiosperms decreased.
Article
The Tertiary anatid fossils (Aves: Anatidae) from Oligocene and Miocene deposits in Australia are described. Most fossils derive from the Late Oligocene – Early Miocene (26–24 Mya) Etadunna and Namba Formations, respectively, in the Lake Eyre and Lake Frome Basins of South Australia. The local faunas from these two formations contain the same suite of anatid species. Two new genera, the oxyurine Pinpanetta, with three new species (Pi. tedfordi, 18 specimens; Pi. vickersrichae, 15 specimens; Pi. fromensis, 20 specimens), and the tadornine Australotadorna, for a large new species known from eight specimens, are established. Three anatid bones from the Waite Formation (c. 8 Mya) at Alcoota, Northern Territory reveal the presence of a tadornine that is neither Australotadorna nor an extant Tadorna species, and an indeterminate duck about the size of Malacorhynchus. Phylogenetic analyses establish Pinpanetta as a basal member of an oxyurine (stiff-tailed duck) radiation. Oxyurines are found to include the Recent Stictonetta and Malacorhynchus as basal members, along with the fossil taxa Mionetta, Manuherikia, and Dunstanetta, and the traditionally included Recent Oxyura, Biziura, Thalassornis, and Nomonyx. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 156, 411–454.