26 research outputs found

    Tertiary fossil waterfowl (Aves: anseriformes) of Australia and New Zealand.

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    Anseriformes, or waterfowl, are related to Galliformes (chickens and kin), together forming the most basal sister of Neoaves. The order is generally considered to comprise four families: Presbyornithidae (Late Cretaceous - Eocene); Anseranatidae (Paleocene-present); Anhimidae (Oligocene-present); Anatidae (Oligocene-present), but the giant Tertiary flightless taxa Dromornithidae (Australia), Gastornithidae (Eurasia) and Diatrymidae (North America) have also been referred to the order. Australasia presently has a unique waterfowl fauna characterized by low species diversity but high phylogenetic diversity: the Magpie Goose Anseranas (the sole surviving anseranatid), several monotypic endemic anatid genera of uncertain relationships (Cape Barren Goose Cereopsis, Freckled Duck Stictonetta, Pinkeared Duck Malacorhynchus and Musk Duck Biziura), several relatively primitive taxa (the aforementioned plus whistling ducks Dendrocygna and Blue-billed Duck Oxyura). The evolutionary history of this fauna has, until now, not been examined via the fossil record. In this thesis, the literature for the global fossil record of Anseranatidae and Anatidae is reviewed. The Neogene (Oligocene-Pliocene) fossil record of Anseriformes, exclusive of dromornithids, is studied from both New Zealand and Australia. For New Zealand, all materials derive from the St Bathans Fauna, Early Miocene (19-16 Ma), Otago. Herein, the first description of this fauna is provided, with four anatid genera (Manuherikia, Dunstanetta, Matanas and Miotadorna) established for five species, with a sixth taxon reported (Chapter 2). The phylogenetic affinities of Manuherikia, Dunstanetta and Miotadorna are examined using parsimony analysis of morphological data (133 characters) in Chapter 3. Miotadorna is a shelduck related to tadornines, perhaps sister to Tadorna, and Manuherikia and Dunstanetta are oxyurines related to the Stictonetta, Malacorhynchus, Oxyura and Biziura). A further species of Manuherikia and the existence of definite anserines, probably related to Cereopsis, are described in Chapter 4. The fossil record of Australian anseriforms is described in Chapters 5-8. The Oligo- Miocene record derives principally from the Etadunna and Namba Formations (26-24 Ma) in the Lake Eyre and Frome Basins, respectively, in South Australia. Four taxa are described, with all occurring both in the Namba and Etadunna Formations: a single genus, Pinpanetta, is established for three species and another, Australotadorna, for a tadornine. Phylogenetic analyses (parsimony and Bayesian) of a dataset (150 characters, 61 taxa) show Pinpanetta is an oxyurine and confirm the previously found oxyurine affinity of Manuherikia and Dunstanetta. A monophyletic clade with moderate support is found for an expanded Oxyurinae that has Stictonetta basal, followed successively by Mionetta (Oligo- Miocene of Europe), Malacorhynchus, Pinpanetta, Manuherikia, Dunstanetta, Oxyura and Nomonyx, Biziura and Thalassornis. This same analysis finds anserines the most basal group in Anatidae, so changing position with Dendrocygna, considered by recent authors to be the most basal anatid. A new genus and species of anseranatid is described from a Faunal Zone A (System A, Late Oligocene) deposit at Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland (Chapter 6). This first pre-Pliocene record of the family in Australia is of equivalent age to the youngest European fossil anseranatid, Anserpica from France, but younger than the Eocene Anatalavis of England. Only one of three other waterfowl bones known from Riversleigh deposits is identifiable and is referred to a species of Pinpanetta found in the Etadunna Formation. Mid-Late Miocene deposits containing waterfowl are restricted in Australia to just the Waite Formation (c. 8 Ma) at Alcoota in the Northern Territory. Three bones indicate an undetermined tadornine and an undetermined anatid, different from any known species. The Pliocene record of anseriforms in South Australia is described from the Tirari Formation (Kanunka and Toolapinna Faunas) (Chapter 7). Nine modern species (Anseranas semipalmata, Cereopsis novaehollandiae, Cygnus atratus, Tadorna tadornoides, Biziura lobata, Oxyura australis, Anas cf A. castanea, A. cf A. gracilis and Aythya australis) are represented. A single extinct species, Tirarinetta kanunka, is described and referred to Oxyurinae. From the Parilla Sands, Late Pliocene, at Bookmark Cliffs on the Murray River, a single humerus is described (Chapter 8) and referred to Tadorna cf. T. tadornoides. A total of 11 anatid taxa is described from latest Oligocene-Early Miocene deposits in Australasia, which considerably adds to the global record of seven species previously reported for this period. Considering also the anseranatids, the Late Oligocene – Early Miocene fauna of Australia is thus established as having equivalent diversity to that from similar-aged deposits in Europe, but by the late Early Miocene, the New Zealand fauna was more diverse than any other Oligo-Miocene fauna known. The more limited samples available, compared to those from New Zealand, probably explain the lack of a similar diversity being revealed for Australia from this period. In both Australia and New Zealand, the Oligo-Miocene faunas are dominated by oxyurine taxa, as were those in Europe. The presence of a tadornine in Australia in the latest Oligocene and another in New Zealand in the Early Miocene precede the appearance of this subfamily in the Northern Hemisphere by 10 Ma, implying a southern origin for this group. The Late Oligocene presence of Mionetta in Europe and of Pinpanetta in Australia, and their referral to Oxyurinae, establishes a minimum age for the origin of this subfamily in the latest Oligocene. The establishment of a fauna comprised of modern species by the Pliocene indicates substantial faunal turnover probably in the Late Miocene. This turnover is due in part to immigration of taxa (Cygnus, Anas, Aythya) and in situ evolution (all endemic genera), as occurred in other Australian vertebrates (rodents, snakes, bats). Thus faunal composition in Australia appears to have been more affected by attainment of some threshold in proximity to Asia being breached by the northward continental drift of Australia, than by aridification, which has been ongoing since the Middle Miocene.Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 200

    Descriptions and phylogenetic relationships of a new genus and two new species of Oligo-Miocene cormorants (Aves: Phalacrocoracidae) from Australia

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    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.Trevor H. Worth

    A phabine pigeon (Aves : Columbidae) from Oligo-Miocene Australia

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    A fossil coracoid from Late Oligocene deposits at Riversleigh, north-western Queensland, is described as a new genus and species of pigeon (Aves : Columbidae), which, based on a unique set of shared characters, is most closely allied to the Australian bronzewings, and Phaps in particular. This, the first described fossil pigeon from pre-Quaternary deposits of Australia, demonstrates that phabine pigeons were present in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene (c. 26–24 million years ago), supporting molecular-based hypotheses for the age of this clade. Two other fragmentary fossils from South Australia attest to at least one other species of pigeon being present in Australia at this time, but they are too incomplete for their affinity to be narrowed further. The new fossils are the oldest columbid fossils globally and although few in number indicate that a diversity of taxa, including the precursors of Australian bronzewings were present in Australia by the end of the Paleogene. This emerging fossil record of pigeons supports ages of divergence of clades based on molecular analyses and suggests that Australia has had a long role in columbid evolution.Trevor H. Worth

    Pliocene waterfowl (Aves : Anseriformes) from South Australia and a new genus and species

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    Copyright Β© 2008 Royal Australasian Ornithologists UnionThe occurrences of fossil bones of waterfowl (Aves : Anseriformes) in Pliocene faunas from the Lake Eyre Basin are described. Nine modern taxa are present in either the Kanunka or the Toolapinna Faunas from the Tirari Formation as follows: Anseranas semipalmata (Magpie Goose), Cereopsis novaehollandiae (Cape Barren Goose), Cygnus atratus (Black Swan), Tadorna tadornoides (Australian Shelduck), Biziura lobata (Musk Duck), Oxyura australis (Blue-billed Duck), Anas cf. A. castanea (Chestnut Teal), A. cf. A. gracilis (Grey Teal) and Aythya australis (Hardhead). A new genus and species of oxyurine, Tirarinetta kanunka, gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Kanunka Fauna on the basis of a humerus.Trevor H. Worth

    A new genus and species of pigeon (Aves: Columbidae) from Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group

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    Trevor H. Worthy and Graham M. Wragghttp://trove.nla.gov.au/work/2859297

    A late Pleistocene predator-accumulated avifauna from Kid's Cave, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

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    A fossil deposit excavated from the floor of Kids Cave, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, is interpreted as having been primarily accumulated by New Zealand falcon Falco novaeseelandiae, with some contribution by Haast's eagle Harpagornis moorei. The fauna is rich: 3699 bones represented 41 bird species, two frog species, unspecified geckoes and skinks, and one bat species. Fossil deposition was mainly within the Last Glacial Maximum from about 22,000 cal yr bp to about 15,000 cal yr bp, with a marked change in sediment characteristics at the onset of the LGM's coldest period. Chronological control is given by three Uranium-series dates for a speleothem and radiocarbon AMS dating of four avian eggshell samples and one bone. The fauna is the first extensive predator accumulation of LGM age described from the West Coast of the South Island, and it indicates a palaeoenvironment of a mosaic of shrublands with forest patches. The onset of the coldest part of the LGM (Aurora 3 glacial advance, 19,500 - 19,000 cal yrs bp) saw marked climate cooling/drying affecting the site, but the avifauna indicates that although open-country taxa became more common in this period, some forest persisted nearby throughout the remainder of the LGM

    A new species of extinct imperial pigeon (Ducula: Columbidae) from Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group

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    A new species of extinct Ducula pigeon is described from abundant fossil material excavated from late Quaternary deposits on Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group, South Pacific Ocean. Tarsometatarsi that are longer than any extant Ducula and relatively reduced wing elements separate this species from all other extinct and extant Ducula. The description of this species adds another large endemic columbid to the suite that has become extinct since the arrival of man on one of the more isolated islands and island groups in the Pacific.Wragg, Graham M., Worthy, T.H

    The late quaternary avifauna

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    http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/2717657

    Australlus, a new genus for Gallinula disneyi (aves: Rallidae) and a description of a new species from oligo-miocene deposits at Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland, Australia

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    Gallinula disneyi Boles, 2005, was based on Late Oligocene-Middle Miocene (c. 25–15 Ma) fossils from Riversleigh World Heritage Property in Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park, northwestern Queensland, Australia. If the generic assignment is correct, this species would be the earliest known crown group representative of Rallidae. We have therefore reassessed the phylogenetic relationships of this rail using both the original and newly recovered material. It is found to be a relatively basal rallid with some affinity to Porphyrio, and the new genus Australlus is erected for this taxon. A second species in the genus is described from Middle Miocene sites at Riversleigh World Heritage Property. A third rallid, smaller than either species of Australlus, is indicated by a mandible fragment, also from Riversleigh, but is not named. These rails are the only gruiforms known from Riversleigh and, with a single species of stork, are the only small non-passerine ground-birds known from these faunas.Trevor H. Worthy and Walter E. Bole
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