Phylogeny of the Falconidae (Aves): a comparison of the efficacy of morphological, mitochondrial, and nuclear data

Griffiths, Carole S.; Barrowclough, George F.; Groth, Jeff G.; Mertz, Lisa

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.11.019

Cited by 72 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The strict consensus cladogram ( Figure 8) agrees with previous analyses of Falconidae in recovery of the monophyly of 3 major subclades, the sister-taxon relationship between Polyborinae and Falconinae, as well as most species-level relationships (Griffiths 1999, Griffiths et al 2004, Fuchs et al 2011 Figure 8.…”

Section: Falco Is Essentially Deep Throughout Its Length (supporting

confidence: 86%

“…This clade has 3 recognized subclades-Herpetotherinae (laughing falcon and forest falcon), Falconinae (typical falcons, kestrels, and falconets), and Polyborinae (caracaras)-that have been supported by analyses of both molecular and morphological datasets (Griffiths 1999, Griffiths et al 2004, Fuchs et al 2012. Most Falconidae are small to medium aerial predators that feed on insects, amphibians, lizards, turtles, snakes, birds, and small mammals, whereas the caracaras are specialized scaven-gers that occasionally consume plant material (Fuchs et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A falconid from the Late Miocene of northwestern China yields further evidence of transition in Late Neogene steppe communities

Zhou

Deng

et al. 2014

The Auk

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Although the family Falconidae, which includes extant falcons and caracaras, has a long evolutionary history, most previously reported fossils referred to this family are isolated single elements. We report a new species, Falco hezhengensis sp. nov., represented by a nearly complete and articulated skeleton from the Late Miocene deposits of Linxia Basin in northwestern China. The new fossil shares an array of derived morphologies with the genus Falco, and analysis of the largest morphological dataset for Falconidae, sampling most genera, identifies the specimen as a new stem kestrel. The phylogeny shows a high degree of congruence with published molecular phylogenies and time trees supporting a Miocene radiation of Falconidae. The species provides a new calibration for the divergence of extant kestrels from other Falco. Remains of a small mammal, a jerboa (Dipodidae), are preserved in the abdominal region of the specimen. Integrated with data from other avian remains from the Linxia Basin, the new fossil provides further support for changes in the open steppe environment of Central Asia since the Late Miocene. Changes in falconid ecology and diet, shifts in small-mammal abundances, as well as the extinction of the Central Asian ostrich may be involved in community turnover in the Late Neogene. Keywords: Aves, Falco, fossil, jerboa, Late Miocene, Linxia Basin Un Falcónido del Mioceno tardío del noroeste de China brinda evidencia adicional de la transición en las comunidades de estepa del Neógeno tardío RESUMEN Aunque los Falconidae, que incluye halcones y caracaras vivientes, tienen una larga historia evolutiva, la mayoría de los fósiles previamente reportados para esta familia son elementosúnicos aislados. Aquí reportamos una nueva especie, Falco hezhengensis sp. nov., representada por un esqueleto casi completo y articulado de los depósitos del Mioceno tardío de la Cuenca de Linxia en el noroeste de China. El nuevo fósil comparte un conjunto de morfologías derivadas con el género Falco, y el análisis de la mayor base de datos morfológicos para Falconidae, con muestras de la mayoría de los géneros, identifica el espécimen como un nuevo cernícalo basal. La filogenia muestra un alto grado de congruencia con las filogenias moleculares y los árboles de tiempo publicados que apoyan una radiación de Falconidae en el Mioceno. La especie brinda una nueva calibración para la divergencia entre los cernícalos vivientes y el resto de los Falco. Los restos de un pequeño mamífero, un gerbo (Dipodidae), están preservados en la región abdominal del espécimen. En conjunto con datos de otros restos de aves de la Cuenca de Linxia, el nuevo fósil brinda sustento adicional para los cambios en el ambiente de estepa abierta de Asia Central desde el Mioceno tardío. Los cambios en la ecología y la dieta de los falcónidos, las fluctuaciones en la abundancia de los pequeños mamíferos, así como la extinción del avestruz de Asia Central pueden estar involucrados en el recambio comunitario del Neógeno tardío.

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Section: Falco Is Essentially Deep Throughout Its Length (supporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A falconid from the Late Miocene of northwestern China yields further evidence of transition in Late Neogene steppe communities

Zhou

Deng

et al. 2014

The Auk

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“…We therefore generated four different phylogenetic trees based on the interordinal relationships provided in Sibley and Ahlquist (1990), Cracraft et al (2004), Livezey and Zusi (2007), and Hackett et al (2008). Because these studies focused on interordinal and -familial relationships, resolution at the species level was provided by additional sources (Brown and Toft, 1999;Riesing et al, 2003;Griffiths et al, 2004;Wink and Sauer-Gurth, 2004;Lerner and Mindell, 2005;Barrowclough et al, 2006;Wink et al, 2008;Wright et al, 2008). Genera and species not present in these studies were omitted from our phylogenetic tree because incorrect placement of species can result in an increased risk of error in calculating correlation coefficients (Symonds, 2002).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Comparative Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optic Foramen Morphology and Activity Pattern in Birds

Hall

Iwaniuk

Gutiérrez-Ibáñez

2009

The Anatomical Record

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The optic nerve is the sole output of visual information from the ganglion cell layer of the retina to the brain in vertebrates. The size of the optic nerve is predicted to be closely associated with activity pattern, and, in many birds, the size of the optic foramen approximates the size of the optic nerve. Specifically, nocturnal species should have relatively smaller optic foramina than diurnal species because of differences in retinal pooling between activity patterns. If optic foramen morphology varies predictably with activity pattern in birds, this variable may be useful for interpreting activity pattern for birds that do not have soft tissue available for study, specifically for fossils. Across 177 families (from 27 orders), we describe four different optic foramen morphologies, only one of which corresponds well with the size of the optic nerve and is therefore appropriate for activity pattern analyses. Here, we test our hypothesis that nocturnal species will have relatively smaller optic foramina than diurnal species, across all species that we measured that have a discrete optic foramen. Regression analyses using species as independent data points and using comparative methods yielded significant differences in optic foramen size between nocturnal and diurnal species relative to three variables: head length, orbit depth, and sclerotic ring inner diameter. Nocturnal species consistently exhibit significantly smaller relative optic foramen diameters than diurnal species. Our results indicate that optic foramen diameter, in combination with either the sclerotic ring or the orbit diameter, can be used to predict activity pattern.

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“…Aquila is polyphyletic; significant rearrangements at generic level; Accipiter left unresolved (146-163) Falconiformes no major taxonomic change; Falco left largely unresolved (147,152,158,164,165 (72,(273)(274)(275)(276)(277)(278)(279)(280)(281)(282)(283)(284)(285)(286)(287)(288)(289)(290)(291) …”

Section: Accipitriformesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of the World

Holt

Lessard

Borregaard

et al. 2013

Science

1,122

1,182

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Modern attempts to produce biogeographic maps focus on the distribution of species, and the maps are typically drawn without phylogenetic considerations. Here, we generate a global map of zoogeographic regions by combining data on the distributions and phylogenetic relationships of 21,037 species of amphibians, birds, and mammals. We identify 20 distinct zoogeographic regions, which are grouped into 11 larger realms. We document the lack of support for several regions previously defined based on distributional data and show that spatial turnover in the phylogenetic composition of vertebrate assemblages is higher in the Southern than in the Northern Hemisphere. We further show that the integration of phylogenetic information provides valuable insight on historical relationships among regions, permitting the identification of evolutionarily unique regions of the world.

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Phylogeny of the Falconidae (Aves): a comparison of the efficacy of morphological, mitochondrial, and nuclear data

Cited by 72 publications

References 14 publications

A falconid from the Late Miocene of northwestern China yields further evidence of transition in Late Neogene steppe communities

A falconid from the Late Miocene of northwestern China yields further evidence of transition in Late Neogene steppe communities

Optic Foramen Morphology and Activity Pattern in Birds

An Update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of the World

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