Systematics and distribution of the giant fossil barn owls of the West Indies (Aves: Strigiformes: Tytonidae)

Abstract

After reviewing the systematics and distribution of the extinct West Indian taxa of Tytonidae (Tyto) larger than the living barn owl Tyto alba (Scopoli), we reached the following conclusions: (1) the species T. ostologa Wetmore (1922) is the only giant barn owl known so far from Hispaniola; (2) T. pollens Wetmore (1937) was a somewhat larger and even more robust representative of T. ostologa known from the Great Bahama Bank and Cuba; (3) the very rare species T. riveroi Arredondo (1972b) is here synonymized with T. pollens; (4) the smallest taxon of these giant barn owls is T. noeli Arredondo (1972a), which is widespread and abundant in Quaternary deposits of Cuba and is here reported for the first time from two cave deposits in Jamaica; (5) the only large barn owl named so far from the Lesser Antilles is T. neddi Steadman & Hilgartner (1999), which is here synonymized with T. noeli; (6) a new taxon from Cuba, T. cravesae new species, which in size approached the linear dimensions of T. ostologa, is named and described herein.

Changing ecological communities along an elevation gradient in seasonally dry tropical forest on Hispaniola (Sierra Martín García, Dominican Republic)

“…These and other studies show that numerous species were lost on the islands at the end of the Pleistocene (a period of major glacial‐interglacial change in climate and sea level) and also during the Holocene from human activities. From Hispaniola in particular, various species of rails, woodcocks, eagles, owls, and caracaras already have been lost, especially after human arrival (Olson, , ; Steadman & Takano, ; Suárez & Olson, ; Takano & Steadman, ). It is likely that the surviving species of birds are more labile in their habitat preferences and thus more tolerant of habitat disturbance.…”

Evidence for a giant parrot from the Early Miocene of New Zealand

“…Heracles inexpectatus adds to the suite of insular birds that have evolved giant and often flightless forms. This phenomenon is not restricted in taxonomic scope, but instead occurs across a surprising spectrum of groups including palaeognaths, anatids, sylviornithids, columbids, aptornithids, ciconiids, tytonids and accipitrids [5][6][7]9,10,14,15,24]. Of these, only the restriction of palaeognaths to older and larger continental islands (NZ, Madagascar, New Guinea and associated islands) follows a common pattern.…”

“…Insular avifaunas are renowned for the evolution of novelties, usually in the form of extraordinarily large and flightless members of widespread and wellknown lineages [1][2][3][4]. Preeminent among these is the columbid Dodo Raphus cucullatus of Mauritius [5], but the list includes giant Sylviornithidae on New Caledonia (Sylviornis) and Fiji (Megavitiornis) [6][7][8], other giant columbids on Rodrigues (Pezophaps) and on Fiji (Natunaornis) [5,9], giant waterfowl on Hawaii [10] and Malta [11], a giant ciconiid stork on Flores, Indonesia [12], and giant tytonid owls and other raptors in the Caribbean [13][14][15][16]. Insular rails (Rallidae) tend to be larger than mainland relatives, but the largest, the Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) from New Zealand (NZ), at up to 3.2 kg, is smaller than these insular giants [17,18].…”

Late Holocene land vertebrate fauna from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Western Cuba: stratigraphy, last appearance dates, diversity and paleoecology

“…Thus, it is likely that T. furcata was not the sole contributor to the pellet-derived fauna reported here, for there were more strigids in Cuba’s past, and at least three extinct Tyto species (Suárez and Olson, 2015; Orihuela, 2019). Indications of multiple species of raptors contributing pellets to the deposit are suggested by the taphonomic evidence.…”