A Phororhacoid bird from the Eocene of Africa

Unexpected larger distribution of paleogene stem-rollers (AVES, CORACII): new evidence from the Eocene of Patagonia, Argentina

Here we present the first record of a stem-Coracii outside the Holarctic region, found in the early Eocene of Patagonia at the Laguna del Hunco locality. Ueekenkcoracias tambussiae gen. et sp. nov. consists of an incomplete right hind limb that presents the following combination of characters, characteristic of Coracii: relatively short and stout tibiotarsus, poorly developed crista cnemialis cranialis, short and wide tarsometatarsus, with the tuberositas m. tibialis cranialis located medially on the shaft, and curved and stout ungual phalanges. Although the presence of a rounded and conspicuous foramen vasculare distale and the trochlea metatarsi II strongly deflected medially resemble Primobucconidae, a fossil group only found in the Eocene of Europe and North America, our phylogenetic analysis indicates the new taxon is the basalmost known Coracii. The unexpected presence of a stem-Coracii in the Eocene of South America indicates that this clade had a more widespread distribution than previously hypothesized, already extending into the Southern Hemisphere by the early Eocene. Ueekenkcoracias tambussiae represents new evidence of the increasing diversity of stem lineages of birds in the Eocene. The new material provides novel morphological data for understanding the evolutionary origin and radiation of rollers and important data for estimates of the divergence time of the group.

Phylogeography of Ticks (Acari: Ixodida)

Improved understanding of tick phylogeny has allowed testing of some biogeographical patterns. On the basis of both literature data and a meta-analysis of available sequence data, there is strong support for a Gondwanan origin of Ixodidae, and probably Ixodida. A particularly strong pattern is observed for the genus Amblyomma, which appears to have originated in Antarctica/southern South America, with subsequent dispersal to Australia. The endemic Australian lineages of Ixodidae (no other continent has such a pattern) appear to result from separate dispersal events, probably from Antarctica. Minimum ages for a number of divergences are determined as part of an updated temporal framework for tick evolution. Alternative hypotheses for tick evolution, such as a very old Pangean group, a Northern hemisphere origin, or an Australian origin, fit less well with observed phylogeographic patterns.

"Terror birds" (Phorusrhacidae) from the Eocene of Europe imply trans-Tethys dispersal

BACKGROUND

Phorusrhacidae was a clade including middle-sized to giant terrestrial carnivorous birds, known mainly from the Cenozoic of South America, but also occurring in the Plio-Pleistocene of North America and the Eocene of Africa. Previous reports of small phorusrhacids in the Paleogene of Europe have been dismissed as based on non-phorusrhacid material.

METHODOLOGY

we have re-examined specimens of large terrestrial birds from the Eocene (late Lutetian) of France and Switzerland previously referred to gastornithids and ratites and have identified them as belonging to a phorusrhacid for which the name Eleutherornis cotei should be used.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

The occurrence of a phorusrhacid in the late Lutetian of Europe indicates that these flightless birds had a wider geographical distribution than previously recognized. The likeliest interpretation is that they dispersed from Africa, where the group is known in the Eocene, which implies crossing the Tethys Sea. The Early Tertiary distribution of phorusrhacids can be best explained by transoceanic dispersal, across both the South Atlantic and the Tethys.