Sheathbill-like birds (Charadriiformes: Chionoidea) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Australasia

V L De Pietri; R Scofield; S J Hand; A Tennyson; T H Worthy

doi:10.1080/03036758.2016.1194297

Sheathbill-like birds (Charadriiformes: Chionoidea) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Australasia

V L De Pietri, R Scofield, S J Hand, A Tennyson, T H Worthy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Chionoidea are a small, southern hemispheric shorebird clade that today includes the Magellanic Plover (Pluvianellidae) and two species of sheathbills (Chionidae). Here we describe the first fossil remains attributable to this group. The two newly described species, the early Miocene Neilus sansomae gen. et sp. nov. from New Zealand and the late Oligocene Chionoides australiensis gen. et sp. nov. from South Australia, are overall more similar to sheathbills, but the mosaic of characters shared with both Chionidae and Pluvianellidae preclude referral to either lineage. Attribution of fossils this age to these lineages also conflicts with divergence dates based on molecular data, as the split between the Magellanic Plover and sheathbills is hypothesised to be more recent. We therefore suggest that these Australasian, plover-size species represent the first record of stem-group taxa within Chionoidea. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2A5A2FD1-C3B5-4BAB-88D8-5862FE9E7976

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	181-199
Number of pages	19
Journal	Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Volume	46
Issue number	3-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2016.1194297
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2016

Keywords

Fossil birds
ghost lineage
New Zealand
shorebird evolution
St Bathans Fauna

Access to Document

10.1080/03036758.2016.1194297

Cite this

@article{9f265906a2634262a82e644c1438a4ee,

title = "Sheathbill-like birds (Charadriiformes: Chionoidea) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Australasia",

abstract = "The Chionoidea are a small, southern hemispheric shorebird clade that today includes the Magellanic Plover (Pluvianellidae) and two species of sheathbills (Chionidae). Here we describe the first fossil remains attributable to this group. The two newly described species, the early Miocene Neilus sansomae gen. et sp. nov. from New Zealand and the late Oligocene Chionoides australiensis gen. et sp. nov. from South Australia, are overall more similar to sheathbills, but the mosaic of characters shared with both Chionidae and Pluvianellidae preclude referral to either lineage. Attribution of fossils this age to these lineages also conflicts with divergence dates based on molecular data, as the split between the Magellanic Plover and sheathbills is hypothesised to be more recent. We therefore suggest that these Australasian, plover-size species represent the first record of stem-group taxa within Chionoidea. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2A5A2FD1-C3B5-4BAB-88D8-5862FE9E7976",

keywords = "Fossil birds, ghost lineage, New Zealand, shorebird evolution, St Bathans Fauna",

author = "{L De Pietri}, V and R Scofield and Hand, {S J} and A Tennyson and Worthy, {T H}",

year = "2016",

month = oct,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1080/03036758.2016.1194297",

language = "English",

volume = "46",

pages = "181--199",

journal = "Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand",

issn = "0303-6758",

publisher = "Taylor & Francis",

number = "3-4",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sheathbill-like birds (Charadriiformes: Chionoidea) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Australasia

AU - L De Pietri, V

AU - Scofield, R

AU - Hand, S J

AU - Tennyson, A

AU - Worthy, T H

PY - 2016/10/1

Y1 - 2016/10/1

N2 - The Chionoidea are a small, southern hemispheric shorebird clade that today includes the Magellanic Plover (Pluvianellidae) and two species of sheathbills (Chionidae). Here we describe the first fossil remains attributable to this group. The two newly described species, the early Miocene Neilus sansomae gen. et sp. nov. from New Zealand and the late Oligocene Chionoides australiensis gen. et sp. nov. from South Australia, are overall more similar to sheathbills, but the mosaic of characters shared with both Chionidae and Pluvianellidae preclude referral to either lineage. Attribution of fossils this age to these lineages also conflicts with divergence dates based on molecular data, as the split between the Magellanic Plover and sheathbills is hypothesised to be more recent. We therefore suggest that these Australasian, plover-size species represent the first record of stem-group taxa within Chionoidea. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2A5A2FD1-C3B5-4BAB-88D8-5862FE9E7976

AB - The Chionoidea are a small, southern hemispheric shorebird clade that today includes the Magellanic Plover (Pluvianellidae) and two species of sheathbills (Chionidae). Here we describe the first fossil remains attributable to this group. The two newly described species, the early Miocene Neilus sansomae gen. et sp. nov. from New Zealand and the late Oligocene Chionoides australiensis gen. et sp. nov. from South Australia, are overall more similar to sheathbills, but the mosaic of characters shared with both Chionidae and Pluvianellidae preclude referral to either lineage. Attribution of fossils this age to these lineages also conflicts with divergence dates based on molecular data, as the split between the Magellanic Plover and sheathbills is hypothesised to be more recent. We therefore suggest that these Australasian, plover-size species represent the first record of stem-group taxa within Chionoidea. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2A5A2FD1-C3B5-4BAB-88D8-5862FE9E7976

KW - Fossil birds

KW - ghost lineage

KW - New Zealand

KW - shorebird evolution

KW - St Bathans Fauna

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84979561626&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/03036758.2016.1194297

DO - 10.1080/03036758.2016.1194297

M3 - Article

VL - 46

SP - 181

EP - 199

JO - Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

JF - Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

SN - 0303-6758

IS - 3-4

ER -

Sheathbill-like birds (Charadriiformes: Chionoidea) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Australasia

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this