Jacqueline M. T. Nguyen

Biogeographical and phylogenetic implications of an early Miocene wren (Aves: Passeriformes: Acanthisittidae) from New Zealand

ABSTRACT A new species and genus of acanthisittid wren (Aves: Passeriformes: Acanthisittidae) is described from the Early Miocene (19–16 Ma) St Bathans Fauna from Otago, New Zealand, based on four fossil bones. The first Tertiary fossil passerine to be described from New Zealand, it is similar in size to New Zealands smallest extant bird, the Rifleman Acanthisitta chloris. A phylogenetic analysis of 53 osteological characters and 24 terminal taxa, including four suboscines, basal corvoids (Menuridae, Atrichornithidae, Climacteridae, Ptilonorhynchidae, Maluridae, Dasyornithidae, Acanthizidae, Pardalotidae, Meliphagidae), and all seven Recent acanthisittid species, identifies it as the sister group to Acanthisitta. This, the first phylogenetic analysis of the basal passerine groups to use morphological characters, recovers a similar pattern of relationships of basal corvoid taxa to that obtained by recent molecular studies. The analysis also suggests that Acanthisitta chloris and the new species are the most deeply nested taxa within the family, suggesting that the radiation of Recent acanthisittids originated no later than the Early Miocene.

Dating the diversification of the major lineages of Passeriformes (Aves)

BackgroundThe avian Order Passeriformes is an enormously species-rich group, which comprises almost 60% of all living bird species. This diverse order is believed to have originated before the break-up of Gondwana in the late Cretaceous. However, previous molecular dating studies have relied heavily on the geological split between New Zealand and Antarctica, assumed to have occurred 85–82 Mya, for calibrating the molecular clock and might thus be circular in their argument.ResultsThis study provides a time-scale for the evolution of the major clades of passerines using seven nuclear markers, five taxonomically well-determined passerine fossils, and an updated interpretation of the New Zealand split from Antarctica 85–52 Mya in a Bayesian relaxed-clock approach. We also assess how different interpretations of the New Zealand–Antarctica vicariance event influence our age estimates. Our results suggest that the diversification of Passeriformes began in the late Cretaceous or early Cenozoic. Removing the root calibration for the New Zealand–Antarctica vicariance event (85–52 Mya) dramatically increases the 95% credibility intervals and leads to unrealistically old age estimates. We assess the individual characteristics of the seven nuclear genes analyzed in our study. Our analyses provide estimates of divergence times for the major groups of passerines, which can be used as secondary calibration points in future molecular studies.ConclusionsOur analysis takes recent paleontological and geological findings into account and provides the best estimate of the passerine evolutionary time-scale currently available. This time-scale provides a temporal framework for further biogeographical, ecological, and co-evolutionary studies of the largest bird radiation, and adds to the growing support for a Cretaceous origin of Passeriformes.

Supermatrix phylogeny and biogeography of the Australasian Meliphagides radiation (Aves: Passeriformes)

With nearly 300 species, the infraorder Meliphagides represents one of the largest and most conspicuous Australasian bird radiations. Although the group has been the focus of a number of recent phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive species-level phylogenetic hypothesis is still lacking. This has impeded the assessment of broad-scale evolutionary, biogeographic and ecological hypotheses. In the present study, we use a supermatrix approach including five mitochondrial and four nuclear markers to infer a time-calibrated phylogeny of the Meliphagides. Our phylogeny, which includes 286 of the 289 (99%) currently recognized species, is largely congruent with previous estimates. However, the addition of 60 newly sequenced species reveals some novel relationships. Our biogeographic analyses suggest an Australian origin for the group in the early Oligocene (31.3Mya, 95% HPD 25.2-38.2Mya). In addition, we find that dispersal events out of Australia have been numerous and frequent, particularly to New Guinea, which has also been the source of multiple back-colonizations to the Australian mainland. The phylogeny provides an important framework for studying a wide variety of macroecological and macroevolutionary themes, including character evolution, origin and timing of diversification, biogeographic patterns and species responses to climate change.

A new cracticid (Passeriformes : Cracticidae) from the Early Miocene of Australia

Abstract The Cracticidae (Passeriformes) is an endemic Australo-Papuan family that, for the purposes of this paper, comprises the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie (Cracticus), currawongs (Strepera) and peltops (Peltops). Here we describe a new genus and species of cracticid from an Early Miocene deposit in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, Australia. Kurrartapu johnnguyeni, gen. nov., sp. nov. is described from a proximal tarsometatarsus that is similar in size to that of the extant Black Butcherbird (C. quoyi). This new species shares morphological features with the Strepera—Cracticus clade to the exclusion of Peltops, which suggests that it is a representative of the crown-group Cracticidae. Kurrartapu johnnguyeni represents the first Tertiary record of the Cracticidae in Australia, and is in concordance with molecular estimates for the timing of the cracticid radiation. We also describe morphological differences of the tarsometatarsus between cracticids and woodswallows (Artamus) which have at times been considered confamilial. We add this new cracticid to the expanding Tertiary fossil record of passerines in Australia, which plays a significant role in our understanding of early passerine evolution.

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

Nguyen, J.M.T., Boles, W.E., Worthy, T.H., Hand, S.J. & Archer, M., 2014. New specimens of the logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri (Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of Australia. Alcheringa 38, 000–000. ISSN 0311–5518. Logrunners (Orthonychidae) are a family of ground-dwelling passerines that are endemic to the Australo-Papuan region. These peculiar birds are part of an ancient Australo-Papuan radiation that diverged basally in the oscine tree. Here we describe eight fossil tarsometatarsi of the logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri, and a distal tibiotarsus tentatively assigned to this species from sites in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia. The new fossil material ranges in age from late Oligocene to early late Miocene, and extends the temporal range of the Orthonychidae into the late Oligocene; this is the geologically oldest record of the family. These specimens also include the oldest Cenozoic passerine fossils from Australia that can be confidently referred to an extant family. The distinctive features of the tarsometatarsus and tibiotarsus of extant logrunners, which are probably related to their unusual method of foraging, are also present in O. kaldowinyeri. Assuming that O. kaldowinyeri had vegetation requirements similar to those of extant logrunners, its presence in various Riversleigh sites provides clues about the palaeoenvironment of these sites. Jacqueline M.T. Nguyen [jacqueline.nguyen@unsw.edu.au] (author for correspondence), Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Walter E. Boles [walter.boles@austmus.gov.au], Ornithology Section, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Trevor H. Worthy [trevor.worthy@flinders.edu.au], School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia. Received 19.9.2013; revised 11.10.2013; accepted 25.10.2013 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F4F6219A-22A3-4F6B-8AEE-2957A227C0E0

Australo-Papuan treecreepers (Passeriformes: Climacteridae) and a new species of sittella (Neosittidae: Daphoenositta) from the Miocene of Australia

Sittellas (Neosittidae) and Australo-Papuan treecreepers (Climacteridae) are scansorial passerine birds that are unique to the Australasian region. A new species of a sittella, Daphoenositta trevorworthyi sp. nov., is described from a distal tibiotarsus from middle Miocene deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in northwestern Queensland, Australia. This distal tibiotarsus is considerably larger than those of extant sittellas and exhibits signs of predation. Tibiotarsi from early Miocene deposits at Riversleigh are attributed to the modern climacterid genera Cormobates and Climacteris. These fossils provide the first pre-Pleistocene records of these extant families and genera. The tibiotarsi of Daphoenositta trevorworthyi sp. nov. and the fossil climacterids share several features that are associated with climbing tree trunks. These features are also present in their extant congeners and with unrelated scansorial passerines. The emerging Australian fossil record suggests that this region played a central role in the evolutionary history of Passeriformes, the world’s largest avian radiation.

Vertebrate palaeontology of Australasia into the twenty-first century

The 13th Conference on Australasian Vertebrate Evolution Palaeontology and Systematics (CAVEPS) took place in Perth, Western Australia, from 27 to 30 April 2011. This biennial meeting was jointly hosted by Curtin University, the Western Australian Museum, Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia. Researchers from diverse disciplines addressed many aspects of vertebrate evolution, including functional morphology, phylogeny, ecology and extinctions. New additions to the fossil record were reported, especially from hitherto under-represented ages and clades. Yet, application of new techniques in palaeobiological analyses dominated, such as dental microwear and geochronology, and technological advances, including computed tomography and ancient biomolecules. This signals a shift towards increased emphasis in interpreting broader evolutionary patterns and processes. Nonetheless, further field exploration for new fossils and systematic descriptions will continue to shape our understanding of vertebrate evolution in this little-studied, but most unusual, part of the globe.