New specimens of the logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri (Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of Australia
2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 38; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/03115518.2014.861732
ISSN1752-0754
AutoresJacqueline M. T. Nguyen, Walter Boles, Trevor H. Worthy, Suzanne J. Hand, Michael Archer,
Tópico(s)Avian ecology and behavior
ResumoAbstractNguyen, 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 25.10.2013http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F4F6219A-22A3-4F6B-8AEE-2957A227C0E0地栖雀形目鸟科logrunners ( Orthonychidae )是Australo -巴布亚地区的土著分子。这些奇特的鸟是古老的Australo -巴布亚辐射演变的一部分,从oscine演变树基部分支出来。在这里,我们描述了logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri八个跗跖骨化石,和暂时归于这个种的一个远端胫跗化石。这些化石采自澳大利亚里弗斯利世界遗产保护区。新化石材料的年龄范围是从晚渐新世至早中新世晚期,将Orthonychidae的时间范围延续到晚渐新世;这是该科最古老的地质记录。这些标本还包括来自澳大利亚最老的新生代雀形目化石,完全可以推及到现生科。现存logrunners 的跗跖骨和胫跗骨的鲜明特征也存在于O. kaldowinyeri,这很可能与它们不同寻常的觅食方法有关。假设O. kaldowinyeri的植被要求与现生logrunners的相似,它在各个里弗斯利地点的存在提供了有关这些地点的古环境线索。Key words: logrunnerOrthonyxpasserineOligo-MiocenetarsometatarsusRiversleighAustralia. AcknowledgementsThe authors are grateful to Jaynia Sladek (AM), who kindly provided access to comparative material and provided JMTN with a workspace. We also thank Wayne Longmore (NMV), Heather Janetzki (QM), Robert Palmer and Leo Joseph (ANWC) for facilitating access to additional reference material, and Travis Park (NMV) for measurements of Orthonyx wakefieldi. Thanks to Anna Gillespie (UNSW) for skilled preparation of specimens. Research at Riversleigh is supported by the Australian Research Council (LP100200486, DP1094569, DP130100197 DE130100467 grants to MA, SJH and K.H. Black at UNSW); XSTRATA Community Partnership Programme (North Queensland); the University of New South Wales; Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service; Environment Australia; the Queensland Museum; the Riversleigh Society Inc.; Phil Creaser and the CREATE Fund; Outback at Isa; Mount Isa City Council; private supporters including Ken & Margaret Pettit; the Carpentarian Land Council and the Waanyi people of northwestern Queensland. We are grateful for the field assistance of many volunteers at Riversleigh, as well as staff and postgraduate students of UNSW. JMTN is supported by grants from the Linnean Society of New South Wales (Betty Mayne Scientific Research Fund for Earth Sciences), BirdLife Australia (Stuart Leslie Bird Research Award) and the CREATE Fund. Thanks to Sue Lindsay (Scanning Electron Microscopy and Microanalytical Unit, AM) for assistance with photographing specimens. Thanks to Simon Ho for providing helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We thank the editors and reviewers Gerald Mayr and Storrs Olson for their constructive feedback.
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