Descriptions and phylogenetic relationships of two new genera and four new species of Oligo‐Miocene waterfowl (Aves: Anatidae) from Australia

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.     

Earliest orchid macrofossils: Early Miocene Dendrobium and Earina (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae) from New Zealand

Fossil leaves of two Early Miocene orchids (Dendrobium and Earina) are reported from New Zealand. The distinctive, raised tetra- to cyclocytic stomatal subsidiary cells of Earina and characteristic papilla-like absorbing glands and "ringed" guard cells of Dendrobium support the placement of the fossils into these genera. These therefore represent the first Orchidaceae macrofossils with cuticular preservation, the oldest records for subfamily Epidendroideae, as well as the first New Zealand and southern hemisphere fossil records for Orchidaceae. These taxa belong in basal clades to the Vandeae/Cymbideae or Epidendreae (Earina) and the Australasian clade of Dendrobium sensu lato. This phylogenetic placement demonstrates expansion of epiphytic orchids into Zealandia by the mid-Cenozoic and an important role for southern continents in the diversification of Orchidaceae.     

Fossil grebes from the Truckee Formation (Miocene) of Nevada and a new phylogenetic analysis of Podicipediformes (Aves)

Podicipediformes is a cosmopolitan clade of foot‐propelled diving birds that, despite inhabiting marine and lacustrine environments, have a poor fossil record. In this contribution, we describe three new grebe fossils from the diatomite beds of the Late Miocene Truckee Formation (10.2 ± 0.2 Ma) of Nevada (USA). Two postcranial skeletons and an associated set of wing elements indicate that at least two distinct grebe species occupied the large, shallow Lake Truckee during the Miocene. Phylogenetic analysis of morphological data supports a basal divergence between a clade uniting the dabchicks (Tachybaptus, Limnodytes, Poliocephalus) and a clade uniting Podilymbus, Rollandia, Podiceps and Aechmophorus. Missing data, combined with a paucity of informative skeletal characters, make it difficult to place the Truckee grebes within either of these major clades. Given the weak projection of the cnemial crests compared with extant grebes, it also remains plausible that these specimens represent stem lineage grebes. Although more material is needed to resolve the phylogenetic position of the Truckee grebes, our analysis offers insight into the tempo of grebe evolution by placing the Miocene taxon Thiornis sociata within the dabchick clade. Thiornis sociata provides a minimum age calibration of 8.7 Ma for the basal divergence among dabchicks. Based on the recovery of a nonmonophyletic Tachybaptus and placement of the Western Hemisphere ‘Tachybaptus’ dominicus as the basal member of the otherwise exclusively Eastern Hemisphere dabchick clade, we resurrect the genus Limnodytes for this extant species (Limnodytes dominicus). Our results also nest the large, long‐necked Aechmophorus grebes within the genus Podiceps, as the sister taxon to Podiceps major.     

A new duck from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia, with comments on Miocene evolution of ducks

A new relatively large duck, Chenoanas deserta gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Miocene of the Sharga locality, which is morphologically intermediate between the extant genera Chenonetta and Tachyeres, is described. The diversity of Early and Middle Miocene ducks is discussed. It is noted that some Middle Miocene duck remains are incorrectly referred to the genus Mionetta. The distribution of morphological characters of the humerus in Neogene and extant ducks shows that the present day diversity of ducks apparently results from extinction of some taxa which were formed in the Oligocene-Early Miocene. The distribution of morphological characters in the evolution of diving ducks is evidence that not only the formation of different morphotypes but also so-called ??evolutionary maturation?? of taxa also explains the modern diversity.     

Finds of fragmentary bird skeletons in the Middle Miocene of the northern Caucasus

The first anatomically assembled skeletal remains of Neogene birds in Russia have been found. The head and a fragment of the vertebral column of a duck (Anatidae) and a hind limb of a perching bird (Passeriformes) from the Middle Miocene of the Krasnodar Region (Tsurevsky Formation) comprise the earliest known Miocene birds from European Russia. The skull of a very small duck (smaller than any extant species of Eurasian ducks) shows a combination of morphological characters characteristic of the extant species of Tadorna and Nettapus, and could belong to a representative of the fossil genus Mioquerquedula. This discovery supports a separate generic status for small-sized middle Miocene anatids from Eurasia, and suggests that they were more primitive than the extant Anatinae.     

Diving ducks from the Middle Miocene of western Mongolia

Medium-sized diving ducks from the Middle Miocene of the Sharga locality (western Mongolia) are described. Sharganetta mongolica gen. et sp. nov. and Nogusunna conflictoides gen. et sp. nov. are evolutionary more advanced than the thoroughly studied Early Miocene genus Mionetta, but more primitive than Anatinae and Oxyurinae. The humeral morphology gives evidence of an aberrant position of the two new genera. Another taxon, Protomelanitta gracilis gen. et sp. nov. presumably belongs to basal Mergini.     

Systematics and evolutionary significance of the small Abrocomidae from the early Miocene of southern South America

Octodontoidea is the most species-rich clade among hystricomorph rodents, and has a fossil record going back to at least the late Oligocene. Affinities of fossils previous to the late Miocene differentiation of the extant families Abrocomidae, Echimyidae and Octodontidae are controversial, essentially because these fossils may share few apomorphies with modern species. In fact, pre-late Miocene representatives of Abrocomidae had not been recognised until very recently. Here we revise the early Miocene genus Acarechimys, originally assigned to Echimyidae, and alternatively to stem Octodontoidea or to Octodontidae. A systematic and parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis of the species traditionally included in Acarechimys showed that this genus is part of stem Abrocomidae. These results are primarily supported by morphology of the mandible and lower molars. Acarechimys is here restricted to three species, A. minutus, A. pulchellus and Acarechimys pascuali sp. nov., while another species, A. constans, is here transferred to a new abrocomid genus. The remaining species were nested within Octodontidae. According to these results, Abrocomidae might have been as diverse as its sister clade Octodontidae-Echimyidae during the late Oligocene–early Miocene. Extinction of this diversity would have resulted in marked loss of evolutionary history, with extant abrocomids being currently restricted to late-diverged euhypsodont representatives.     

Tropical Fossil Caviomorph Rodents from the Southwestern Brazilian Amazonia in the Context of the South American Faunas: Systematics,Biochronology, and Paleobiogeography

The fossil-bearing stratigraphic sections of the Solimões Formation (southwestern Brazilian Amazonia) are exposed mainly along the Juruá, Purus, and Acre rivers, and in road cuts. These deposits have provided fossils of the four main lineages of Caviomorpha – Cavioidea, Erethizontoidea, Octodontoidea, and Chinchilloidea, contributing to the understanding on the evolution of tropical Neogene rodents. Herein, our knowledge about fossil rodents from this region is reviewed. New specimens are recorded, including taxa mentioned for this region for the first time, such as basal cavioids, Dolichotinae, Caviodon (Hydrochoeridae), and Drytomomys (Dinomyidae). Unfortunately, the deposits have no absolute ages, and based on palynological data and the biochronology of several taxa (mainly mammals), the encompassed fauna has been constrained to the late Miocene. However, some rodent lineages recorded here seem to be more related to older faunas, from the middle Miocene and Paleogene. Regarding the biogeographic and paleoenvironmental affinities, most of the Neogene rodents from the Acre region show more similarities to those from the Entre Rios, Argentina, and Urumaco, Venezuela, where wet environments were present during Neogene times. An increase in prospecting along southwestern Amazonian rivers looking for rodents (among other vertebrates) associated with methods to better constrain the ages of these faunal assemblages will contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of the tropical rodents as well as the stratigraphy and age of that portion of the basin.     

Phylogeny and systematics of Melanesia’s most diverse gecko lineage (Cyrtodactylus,Gekkonidae, Squamata)

Oliver, P.M., Richards, S.J. & Sistrom, M. (2012). Phylogeny and systematics of Melanesia’s most diverse gecko lineage (Cyrtodactylus, Gekkonidae, Squamata). —Zoologica Scripta, 41, 437–454. The systematics and biogeographical history of the diverse fauna of New Guinea and surrounding islands (Melanesia) remain poorly known. We present a phylogeny for 16 of the 21 recognised Melanesian bent‐toed geckos in the genus Cyrtodactylus based on mitochondrial sequence data. These analyses reveal two divergent lineages of Cyrtodactylus within Melanesia. One includes a single recognised species with clear affinities to sampled taxa from Asia. The other comprises a relatively diverse radiation (likely 30+ species), not closely related to sampled extralimital taxa and centred on the Melanesian region (including Australia). Many taxa within this second lineage are endemic to islands surrounding New Guinea, and dispersal and speciation on peripheral islands appears to have played an important role in the accumulation of species diversity within this clade. In contrast, little diversity is centred upon montane areas, although we do identify at least one lineage closely associated with hill and lower montane forest that probably dates to at least the late Miocene. Our phylogenetic analyses also reveal numerous divergent lineages that require taxonomic attention, including at least two widespread taxa that are likely to be composite, additional specimens of Cyrtodactylus capreoloides (until recently known only from the holotype) and several divergent and completely novel lineages, two of which we introduce herein: Cyrtodactylus arcanus sp. n. and Cyrtodactylus medioclivus sp. n.     

Phylogenetic investigation and divergence dating of Poa (Poaceae,tribe Poeae) in the Australasian region

The Australasian region contains a significant proportion of worldwide Poa diversity, but the evolutionary relationships of taxa from this region are incompletely understood. Most Australasian species have been placed in a monophyletic Poa subgenus, Poa supersection Homalopoa section Brizoides clade, but with limited resolution of relationships. In this study, phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed for Australasian Poa, using three plastid (rbcL and matK genes and the rpl32‐trnL intergenic spacer) and two nuclear [internal/external transcribed spacer (ITS/ETS)] markers. Seventy‐five Poa spp. were represented (including 42 Australian, nine New Guinean, nine New Zealand and three Australian/New Zealand species). Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference criteria were applied for phylogenetic reconstruction. Divergence dates were estimated using Bayesian inference, with a relaxed clock applied and rates sampled from an uncorrelated log‐normal distribution. Australasian Poa spp. are placed in three lineages (section Brizoides, section Parodiochloa and the ‘X clade’), each of which is closely related to non‐Australasian taxa or clades. Section Brizoides subsection Australopoa is polyphyletic as currently circumscribed. In Australasia, Poa has diversified within the last 4.3 Mya, with divergence dating results broadly congruent with fossil data that record the appearance of vegetation with a prominent grassland understorey or shrubland/grassland mosaic vegetation dating from the mid‐Pliocene. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 175 , 523–552.     

Phylogeography of the whelk genus Cominella (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) suggests long‐distance counter‐current dispersal of a direct developer

The gastropod genus Cominella Gray, 1850 consists of approximately 20 species that inhabit a wide range of marine environments in New Zealand and Australia, including its external territory, the geographically isolated Norfolk Island. This distribution is puzzling, however, with apparently closely‐related species occurring either side of the Tasman Sea, even though all species are considered to have limited dispersal abilities. To determine how Cominella attained its current distribution, we derived a dated molecular phylogeny, which revealed a clade comprising all the Australian and Norfolk Island species nested within four clades of solely New Zealand species. This Australian clade diverged well after the vicariant separation of New Zealand from Australia, and implies two long‐distance dispersal events: a counter‐current movement across the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia, occurring at the origination of the clade, followed by the colonization of Norfolk Island. The biology of Cominella suggests that the most likely method of long‐distance dispersal is rafting as egg capsules. Our robust phylogeny also means that the current Cominella classification requires revision. We propose that our clades be recognized as subgenera: Cominella (s.s.), Cominista, Josepha, Cominula, and Eucominia, with each subgenus comprising only of New Zealand or Australian species. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115 , 315–332.     

Local or global? Biogeography of some primitive Lepidoptera in New Zealand

Abstract

Distribution maps are presented for 30 species of small forest moths representing two genera of Micropterigidae and one genus of Mnesarchaeidae. Evolutionary patterns are interpreted by means of the panbiogeographic method in order to seek a relationship between dispersal patterns within New Zealand and the overseas links of the taxa in question. It is established that different evolutionary lines indeed exhibit different geographic dispersal patterns within New Zealand. Moreover, certain characteristics of these patterns can be attributed to the overseas affinities of the groups, i.e., groups of organisms with New Caledonian or Australian affinities have a western disjunct pattern, whereas those with circum-Pacific affinities have a different pattern in which the taxa occupying a basal position in the phylogeny are to be found in the eastern South Island. However, both groups have overlapping centres of diversity, particularly in NW Nelson.     

Historical transoceanic dispersal of a freshwater shrimp: the colonization of the South Pacific by the genus Paratya (Atyidae)

Aim To infer the phylogenetic relationships within the freshwater shrimp genus Paratya Miers, 1882 (Atyidae) and to use these data to answer biogeographical questions about the location, timing and form of evolution of this genus in the South Pacific. Location Paratya are spread throughout various freshwater habitats in the western Pacific, with a disjunct northern range in the North Pacific (Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Siberia) and South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Lord Howe, Norfolk Island). Methods Specimens were obtained from throughout its range. Mitochondrial sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal DNA were analysed using phylogenetic techniques to identify whether landmasses are monophyletic and what the relationships are between landmasses. Molecular clock dating methods were used to date divergences between taxa. Results Each landmass was recovered as monophyletic. Japan/Ryukyu Islands is the most basal group, followed by New Zealand. Australian specimens form a sister group to a clade made up of two groups (New Caledonia and Lord Howe/Norfolk Island). The oldest divergence within the genus (between North and South Pacific) took place 12–19 Ma. Main conclusions The geographical origin of the genus (either Gondwana or Laurasia) is unclear. Dispersal occurred between the North and South Pacific long after the split up of Gondwana. Dispersal likely explains the presence of Paratya on each landmass in the South Pacific, from continent to isolated oceanic island. This dispersal is conjectured to have taken place through oceanic currents because of the amphidromous life cycle of some taxa of Paratya, given that amphyidromy is plesiomorphic in atyid shrimp.     

Fossil reptiles from the Spanish Muschelkalk (mont‐ral and alcover,province Tarragona)

The marine tetrapods from the late Ladinian Spanish Muschelkalk deposits located between the towns of Mont‐ral and Alcover (province Tarragona) are reviewed. The fauna comprises an undetermined thalattosaur, a small cyamodontoid placodont probably referrable to Psephoderma, a possible pachypleurosaur with (if any) affinities to the Serpianosaurus‐Neusticosaurus clade, lariosaur specimens currently referred to Lariosaurus balsami, an incomplete specimen of Lariosaurus calcagnii, an endemic nothosaur (Nothosaurus cymatosauroides), and a possible pistosaur. Collectively, the faunal mix comprises endemic taxa as well as elements with affinities to the fauna of the Alpine and/or Germanic Triassic. The fauna suggests faunal interchange through the Burgundy Gate linking the southern branch of the developing Neotethys to the Germanic Basin.     

Australian biogeographical connections and the phylogeny of large genera in the plant family Myrtaceae

Aim To compare the phylogeny of the eucalypt and melaleuca groups with geological events and ages of fossils to discover the time frame of clade divergences. Location Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Indonesian Archipelago. Methods We compare published molecular phylogenies of the eucalypt and melaleuca groups of the plant family Myrtaceae with geological history and known fossil records from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Results The Australasian eucalypt group includes seven genera, of which some are relictual rain forest taxa of restricted distribution and others are species‐rich and widespread in drier environments. Based on molecular and morphological data, phylogenetic analyses of the eucalypt group have identified two major clades. The monotypic Arillastrum endemic to New Caledonia is related in one clade to the more species‐rich Angophora, Corymbia and Eucalyptus that dominate the sclerophyll vegetation of Australia. Based on the time of rifting of New Caledonia from eastern Gondwana and the age of fossil eucalypt pollen, we argue that this clade extends back to the Late Cretaceous. The second clade includes three relictual rain forest taxa, with Allosyncarpia from Arnhem Land the sister taxon to Eucalyptopsis of New Guinea and the eastern Indonesian archipelago, and Stockwellia from the Atherton Tableland in north‐east Queensland. As monsoonal, drier conditions evolved in northern Australia, Arnhem Land was isolated from the wet tropics to the east and north during the Oligocene, segregating ancestral rain forest biota. It is argued also that the distribution of species in Eucalyptopsis and Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus endemic in areas north of the stable edge of the Australian continent, as far as Sulawesi and the southern Philippines, is related to the geological history of south‐east Asia‐Australasia. Colonization (dispersal) may have been aided by rafting on micro‐continental fragments, by accretion of arc terranes onto New Guinea and by land brought into closer proximity during periods of low sea‐level, from the Late Miocene and Pliocene. The phylogenetic position of the few northern, non‐Australian species of Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus suggests rapid radiation in the large Australian sister group(s) during this time frame. A similar pattern, connecting Australia and New Caledonia, is emerging from phylogenetic analysis of the Melaleuca group (Beaufortia suballiance) within Myrtaceae, with Melaleuca being polyphyletic. Main conclusion The eucalypt group is an old lineage extending back to the Late Cretaceous. Differentiation of clades is related to major geological and climatic events, including rifting of New Caledonia from eastern Gondwana, development of monsoonal and drier climates, collision of the northern edge of the Australian craton with island arcs and periods of low sea level. Vicariance events involve dispersal of biota.     

The energetics of New Zealand's ducks

Measurements on rates of metabolism and temperature regulation are presented from nine populations of seven species of ducks resident in New Zealand. An analysis of these data and those from 18 additional species obtained from the literature indicates that basal rate of metabolism in anatids correlates with body mass and restriction to the Australian-New Zealand region: these 'southern' species have basal rates that average 70% of those from the Northern Hemisphere. The low basal rates of southern anatids may reflect reduced pectoral muscle masses in association with the absence of migratory habits and/or life on land masses without eutherian predators. New Zealand flightless teal (Anas aucklandica nesiotis, Anas aucklandica aucklandica) do not have mass-independent basal rates that differ from those found in flighted ducks living in the same region, although flightless teal have lower total basal rates than most ducks as a result of small masses. Minimal thermal conductance in this sample is determined by body mass alone. Regulated body temperature is negatively correlated with body mass.     

Systematics and evolution of the Pan‐Alcidae (Aves,Charadriiformes)

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.     

Phylogenetic relationships of the ubiquitous coral reef crab subfamily Chlorodiellinae (Decapoda,Brachyura, Xanthidae)

The xanthid subfamily Chlorodiellinae is one of the most ubiquitous coral reef crab taxa in the Indo‐West Pacific region. Many species are common in coral rubble and rocky shores from Hawaii to eastern Africa, often dominating reef cryptofauna in terms of biomass. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial (COX1, 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) and nuclear (histone H3) gene sequences of 202 specimens indicate that the Chlorodiellinae is polyphyletic as presently defined. Three genera, Pilodius, Cyclodius and Chlorodiella, and two previously undescribed lineages were recovered as a well‐supported clade. In combination with morphological data, the subfamily is redefined and restricted to this clade. Two new genera, Soliella gen. n., and Luniella gen. n., are described based on features of the carapace, male thoracic sternum and male gonopods. The remaining chlorodielline genera and members of the Etisinae, a subfamily with supposedly close morphological affinities to the Chlorodiellinae, were recovered at various positions throughout the xanthid phylogeny, although with relatively low support values. These results reiterate the unresolved status of xanthid subfamilial relationships, but nevertheless provide progress for xanthid systematics.