New specimens of the logrunner<i>Orthonyx kaldowinyeri</i>(Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of Australia

Nguyen, Jacqueline M. T.; Boles, Walter; Worthy, Trevor H.; Hand, Suzanne J.; Archer, Michael

doi:10.1080/03115518.2014.861732

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…A relaxed clock analysis of the complete matrix using the earliest fossil identifiable as a crown-oscine25 and secondary calibrations derived from a fossil-calibrated phylogenomic analysis of birds19 produced a time frame (Fig. 1) more recent than hypothesized by most studies (but see refs 12, 13, 20).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tectonic collision and uplift of Wallacea triggered the global songbird radiation

et al. 2016

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Songbirds (oscine passerines) are the most species-rich and cosmopolitan bird group, comprising almost half of global avian diversity. Songbirds originated in Australia, but the evolutionary trajectory from a single species in an isolated continent to worldwide proliferation is poorly understood. Here, we combine the first comprehensive genome-scale DNA sequence data set for songbirds, fossil-based time calibrations, and geologically informed biogeographic reconstructions to provide a well-supported evolutionary hypothesis for the group. We show that songbird diversification began in the Oligocene, but accelerated in the early Miocene, at approximately half the age of most previous estimates. This burst of diversification occurred coincident with extensive island formation in Wallacea, which provided the first dispersal corridor out of Australia, and resulted in independent waves of songbird expansion through Asia to the rest of the globe. Our results reconcile songbird evolution with Earth history and link a major radiation of terrestrial biodiversity to early diversification within an isolated Australian continent.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tectonic collision and uplift of Wallacea triggered the global songbird radiation

et al. 2016

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“…In contrast with extant mammal genera, which generally evolved in the Plio‐Pleistocene, there is evidence that many extant bird genera evolved upwards of 5 Mya during the latest Miocene and have persisted to the present day (e.g. Olson & Rasmussen, ; Worthy, ; Nguyen et al ., ). Longer‐lived genera are rarer, but species of extant genera, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Longer‐lived genera are rarer, but species of extant genera, e.g. Collocalia (Boles, ), Ciconia (Boles, ), Menura (Boles, ), and Orthonyx (Boles, ; Nguyen et al ., ) are known from the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene of Riversleigh, north‐western Queensland, Australia. Thus, although the time of entry of Centropus into Australia is unknown, it could plausibly long precede 5 Mya.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three terrestrial Pleistocene coucals (Centropus: Cuculidae) from southern Australia: biogeographical and ecological significance

2016

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Coucals are large, predatory, primarily ground-dwelling cuckoos of the genus Centropus, with 26 extant species ranging from Africa to Australia. Their evolutionary and biogeographical history are poorly understood and their fossil record almost non-existent. Only one species (Centropus phasianinus) currently inhabits Australia, but there is now fossil evidence for at least three Pleistocene species. One of these (Centropus colossus) was described from south-eastern Australia in 1985. Here we describe additional elements of this species from the same site, and remains of two further extinct species from the Thylacoleo Caves of the Nullarbor Plain, south-central Australia. The skeletal morphology and large size of the three extinct species indicates that they had reduced capacity for flight and were probably primarily ground-dwelling. The extinct species include the two largestknown cuckoos, weighing upwards of 1 kg each. They demonstrate that gigantism in this lineage has been more marked in a continental context than on islands, contrary to the impression gained from extant species. The evolutionary relationships of the Australian fossil coucals are uncertain, but our phylogenetic analysis indicates a possible close relationship between one of the Nullarbor species and extant Centropus violaceus from the Bismarck Archipelago. The presence of three coucals in southern Australia markedly extends the geographical range of the genus from tropical Australia into southern temperate regions. This demonstrates the remarkable and consistent ability of coucals to colonize continents despite their very limited flying ability.

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“…The palaeohabitat of Riversleigh Faunal Zone B assemblages including the Neville's Garden Local Fauna, has been inferred to be a closed forest environment based on the high diversity of mammals and on the presence of groups that today are restricted to rainforests (e.g., musky ratkangaroos, Hypsiprymnodon; lyrebirds, Menura; logrunners, Orthonyx; and striped possums, Djaludjangi) (Archer et al, 1989;Boles, 1995;Brammall, 1998;Bates et al, 2014;Nguyen et al, 2014). Pseudocheirids have a greater abundance of sympatric species in rainforests (Bassarova and Archer, 1999) and some of Riversleigh's early Miocene assemblages contain up to seven sympatric pseudocheirids (Travouillon et al, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A tiny new marsupial lion (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae) from the early Miocene of Australia

Gillespie

Archer

Hand

2016

Palaeontol electronic

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Microleo attenboroughi, a new genus and species of diminutive marsupial lion (Marsupialia: Thylacoleonidae), is described from early Miocene freshwater limestones in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, Australia. A broken palate that retains incomplete cheektooth rows demonstrates that this new, very small marsupial lion possessed the elongate, trenchant P3 and predominantly subtriangular upper molars characteristic of thylacoleonids, while other features of the premolar support its placement in a new genus. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Microleo attenboroughi is the sister taxon to all other thylacoleonids, and that Thylacoleonidae may lie outside Vombatomorphia as the sister taxon of all other wombat-like marsupials including koalas. However, given limited data about the cranial morphology of M. attenboroughi, Thylacoleonidae is concluded here, conservatively, to be part of the vombatomorphian clade. This new thylacoleonid brings to three the number of marsupial lion species that have been recovered from early Miocene deposits at Riversleigh and indicates a level of diversity previously not seen for this group. It is likely that the different size and morphology of the three sympatric taxa reflects niche partitioning and hence reduced competition. Thylacoleonids may have been the dominant arboreal predators of Cenozoic Australia.

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New specimens of the logrunnerOrthonyx kaldowinyeri(Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of Australia

Cited by 17 publications

References 32 publications

Tectonic collision and uplift of Wallacea triggered the global songbird radiation

Tectonic collision and uplift of Wallacea triggered the global songbird radiation

Three terrestrial Pleistocene coucals (Centropus: Cuculidae) from southern Australia: biogeographical and ecological significance

A tiny new marsupial lion (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae) from the early Miocene of Australia

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