Fred Ruhe
Well-known member

Jenna M. McCullough, Robert G. Moyle, Brian T. Smith and Michael J. Andersen, 2019
A Laurasian origin for a pantropical bird radiation is supported by genomic and fossil data (Aves: Coraciiformes)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1910): Article ID 20190122. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0122
This article has a delayed release (embargo) and will be available in PMC on September 11, 2020.
Free pdf: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2019.0122
Abstract and full tekst: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/...id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub=pubmed
The evolution of pantropically distributed clades has puzzled palaeo- and neontologists for decades regarding the different hypotheses about where they originated. In this study, we explored how a pantropical distribution arose in a diverse clade with a rich fossil history: the avian order Coraciiformes. This group has played a central role in the debate of the biogeographical history of Neoaves. However, the order lacked a coherent species tree to inform study of its evolutionary dynamics. Here, we present the first complete species tree of Coraciiformes, produced with 4858 ultraconserved elements, which supports two clades: (1) Old World-restricted bee-eaters, rollers and ground-rollers; and (2) New World todies and motmots, and cosmopolitan kingfishers. Our results indicated two pulses of diversification: (1) major lineages of Coraciiformes arose in Laurasia approximately 57 Ma, followed by independent dispersals into equatorial regions, possibly due to tracking tropical habitat into the lower latitudes—the Coracii (Coraciidae + Brachypteraciidae) into the Afrotropics, bee-eaters throughout the Old World tropics, and kingfishers into the Australasian tropics; and (2) diversification of genera in the tropics during the Miocene and Pliocene. Our study supports the important role of Laurasia as the geographical origin of a major pantropical lineage and provides a new framework for comparative analyses in this charismatic bird radiation.
Enjoy,
Fred
A Laurasian origin for a pantropical bird radiation is supported by genomic and fossil data (Aves: Coraciiformes)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1910): Article ID 20190122. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0122
This article has a delayed release (embargo) and will be available in PMC on September 11, 2020.
Free pdf: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2019.0122
Abstract and full tekst: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/...id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub=pubmed
The evolution of pantropically distributed clades has puzzled palaeo- and neontologists for decades regarding the different hypotheses about where they originated. In this study, we explored how a pantropical distribution arose in a diverse clade with a rich fossil history: the avian order Coraciiformes. This group has played a central role in the debate of the biogeographical history of Neoaves. However, the order lacked a coherent species tree to inform study of its evolutionary dynamics. Here, we present the first complete species tree of Coraciiformes, produced with 4858 ultraconserved elements, which supports two clades: (1) Old World-restricted bee-eaters, rollers and ground-rollers; and (2) New World todies and motmots, and cosmopolitan kingfishers. Our results indicated two pulses of diversification: (1) major lineages of Coraciiformes arose in Laurasia approximately 57 Ma, followed by independent dispersals into equatorial regions, possibly due to tracking tropical habitat into the lower latitudes—the Coracii (Coraciidae + Brachypteraciidae) into the Afrotropics, bee-eaters throughout the Old World tropics, and kingfishers into the Australasian tropics; and (2) diversification of genera in the tropics during the Miocene and Pliocene. Our study supports the important role of Laurasia as the geographical origin of a major pantropical lineage and provides a new framework for comparative analyses in this charismatic bird radiation.
Enjoy,
Fred
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