NDLI: The middle Eocene European “ratite” Palaeotis (Aves, Palaeognathae) restudied once more

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Mayr, Gerald
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	Palaeotis weigelti is a flightless, “ratite”-like palaeognathous bird, which occurs in the Middle Eocene of the German fossil sites Messel and the Geisel Valley. The species is known from several specimens, most of which are, however, very fragmentary or poorly preserved. Its phylogenetic affinities are controversial, with earlier authors especially considering close affinities to Struthionidae and Rheidae, and some skeletal features were only briefly described. Moreover, recent molecular analyses congruently indicate that a “ratite” morphology evolved multiple times within palaeognathous birds. The skeletal morphology and phylogenetic affinities of Palaeotis are therefore reanalyzed, and the taxon is subjected to a phylogenetic analysis based on one of the most comprehensive published data sets for palaeognathous birds. In addition to the primary analysis, further analyses were run that were constrained to a backbone topology reflecting the results of sequence-based studies. In none of these analyses was a well-supported placement of Palaeotis obtained, and it is concluded that current data do not convincingly resolve the affinities of this taxon. Palatal morphology of Palaeotis most closely resembles that of lithornithids, another group of palaeognathous birds from the Eocene of the Northern Hemisphere, and there remains a possibility that the “ratite” features of Palaeotis evolved independently from those of the extant taxa. Palaeotis weigelti ist ein flugunfähiger “Ratiten”-artiger palaeognather Vogel, der im Mittleren Eozän der Fossilfundstellen Messel und Geiseltal vorkommt. Die Art ist von mehreren Exemplaren bekannt, von denen die meisten jedoch fragmentarisch oder schlecht erhalten sind. Ihre verwandtschaftlichen Beziehungen sind umstritten (frühere Autoren zogen insbesondere Struthionidae und Rheidae als nächste Verwandte in Betracht), und einige wichtige Skelettmerkmale wurden nur sehr kurz beschrieben. Darüber hinaus zeigen neue molekulare Analysen übereinstimmend, dass eine “Ratiten”-artige Morphologie mehrfach unabhängig innerhalb palaeognather Vögel entstand. Die Skelettmorphologie sowie die phylogenetischen Beziehungen von Palaeotis werden daher erneut analysiert und die Verwandtschaftsbeziehungen des Taxons anhand eines der umfassendsten veröffentlichten Datensätze für palaeognathe Vögel analysiert. Neben der primären Analyse wurden weitere Analysen durchgeführt, deren Topologie in Hinblick auf die Ergebnisse der sequenzbasierten Studien eingeschränkt wurde. In keiner dieser Analysen wurde eine gut gestützte Platzierung von Palaeotis erhalten, und es wird festgestellt, dass die aktuellen Daten die Beziehungen dieses Taxons nicht überzeugend lösen. Der Bau des knöchernen Gaumens von Palaeotis ähnelt am meisten demjenigen der Lithornithidae, einer anderen Gruppe palaeognather Vögel aus dem Eozän der Nordhalbkugel, und es besteht die Möglichkeit, dass sich die “Ratiten”-Merkmale von Palaeotis unabhängig von denen der heutigen Taxa entwickelt haben.
Starting Page	503
Ending Page	514
Page Count	12
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00310220
Journal	Paläontologische Zeitschrift
Volume Number	89
Issue Number	3
e-ISSN	18676812
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2014-10-02
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Fossile Vögel Palaeotis Lithornis Phylogenie Evolution Paleontology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Paleontology

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