[Ornithology • 2023] Evolutionary History of New World Crakes (Aves: Rallidae) with Emphasis on the Tribe Laterallini

 

in Depino, Pérez-Emán, Bonaccorso et Areta, 2023.   

DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12595  

  twitter.com/Nachornis 

Abstract 

New World crakes are intriguing, poorly known birds with cursorial cryptic habits; they belong to two unrelated tribes: Laterallini and Pardirallini. Recent genetic studies contributed to the phylogenetic knowledge of these tribes, but a complete phylogenetic reconstruction is still missing. Here, we present the most taxonomically complete dated gene-based phylogeny of New World crakes, with an emphasis on the Laterallini, including for the first time sequences of Coturnicops notatus, Laterallus levraudi, L. jamaicensis tuerosi and L. xenopterus. We used multilocus (mtDNA + nucDNA) phylogenetic analyses and interpreted our results in light of the natural history of the group. Our novel results show that: (1) L. xenopterus is sister to L. leucopyrrhus; (2) L. j. tuerosi is sister to L. spilonota; (3) C. notatus is sister to the clade that groups the remaining New World black crakes (L. jamaicensis, L. j. tuerosi, L. rogersi, L. spilonota and L. spilopterus); and (4) L. levraudi and L. melanophaius conform a recently diverged clade. Thus, our results indicate polyphyly in this group, particularly for Laterallus and, for the first time, for Coturnicops. We show that some discrepancies with previous studies stem from misidentified samples or sequences of L. leucopyrrhus and Anurolimnas fasciatus. Finally, we provide new preliminary insights into species limits of some taxa, specifically for L. levraudi, L. melanophaius and L. j. tuerosi. Our results set the stage for integrative taxonomic assessments at the generic level in the Laterallini by incorporating phylogenetic (gene-based) and natural history data.

Keywords: Coturnicops notatus, Laterallus jamaicensis tuerosi, Laterallus levraudi, Laterallus xenopterus,natural history, rails, systematics 

 Emiliano A. Depino, Jorge L. Pérez-Emán, Elisa Bonaccorso and Juan I. Areta. 2023. Evolutionary History of New World Crakes (Aves: Rallidae) with Emphasis on the Tribe Laterallini. 

Zoologica Scripta. DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12595  

  twitter.com/Nachornis/status/1645815961218433026

 

[PaleoOrnithology • 2021] Gallirallus astolfoi • An Extinct New Rail Species (Aves: Rallidae) from Rapa Island, French Polynesia

Gallirallus astolfoi 

 Salvador, Anderson & Tennyson, 2021

DOI: 10.3390/taxonomy1040032  

twitter.com/Kraken_Scholar

 twitter.com/GiovaFavazzi 

Abstract

A new species of rail, Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov., is described from Rapa Island (Rapa Iti), French Polynesia. The holotype (and single known specimen) is a left tarsometatarsus recovered from Tangarutu Cave. This rail species was apparently endemic to Rapa Iti and potentially flightless. It became extinct after human colonisation of the island.

Keywords: endemic species; flightlessness; Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov.; Holocene; Rapa Iti

  Left tarsometatarsus (holotype, NMNZ S.044399) of Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov. in different views:
 (A) anterior, (B) caudal, (C) lateral, (D) medial, (E) proximal, (F) distal.

 

Family Rallidae

Genus Gallirallus Lafresnaye,1841

Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov.

 

rail (cf. Gallirallus): Tennyson & Anderson, 2012: 108.

 

Holotype: NMNZ S.044399 (left tarsometatarsus; A. Anderson col. 21/vii/2002).

Type locality: French Polynesia, Rapa Island (Rapa Iti), Tangarutu Cave, Section S1 (30–40 cm).

Diagnosis: Tarsometatarsus small (ca. 34.5 mm long), of delicate appearance, with narrow and shallow shaft, and narrow trochleae (particularly the trochlea metatarsi II).

Etymology: The specific epithet honours Astolfo, one of Charlemagne’s fictional paladins. In the epic Orlando Furioso, Astolfo becomes trapped on a remote island because of the sorceress Alcina.

Conclusions: 

Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov. from Rapa Iti is the seventh extinct species in the genus to be described from French Polynesia (Table 1), excluding the potential undescribed one mentioned above. Excluding the volant G. philippensis, the species geographically closest to G. astolfoi sp. nov. is G. steadmani from Tubuai, ca. 700 km NW from Rapa Iti. As new specimens continue to be discovered and described, the scenario of a multitude of endemic rail species across the Pacific Islands is becoming more evident, offering further evidence in support of the above-mentioned hypothesis [8,30]. Likewise, the list of species extinct after human contact during the past millennia is becoming more extensive, adding to the corpus of data on the demise of insular faunas.

 

 Rodrigo B. Salvador , Atholl Anderson and Alan J. D. Tennyson. 2021. An Extinct New Rail (Gallirallus, Aves: Rallidae) Species from Rapa Island, French Polynesia. Taxonomy. 2021, 1(4), 448-457. DOI: 10.3390/taxonomy1040032

  twitter.com/Kraken_Scholar/status/1519072985763569664

  twitter.com/GiovaFavazzi/status/1519044580595073024

[Ornithology • 2019] Systematics, Morphology and Ecology of Rails (Aves: Rallidae) of the Mascarene Islands, with One New Species

Aphanapteryx bonasia Frauenfeld, 1868

in Hume, 2019. 

  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4626.1.1

Abstract

Five species in five genera of extinct endemic rails have been described from the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues: the Mauritian Red Rail or Poule Rouge Aphanapteryx bonasia; Mascarene Coot or Poule d’eau Fulica newtonii; which occurred on Mauritius and Réunion; Réunion Wood Rail Dryolimnas augusti; Réunion Gallinule or Oiseaux bleu ‘Porphyrio caerulescens’; and Rodrigues or Leguat’s Rail Erythromachus leguati. All are known from fossil remains and/or from contemporary accounts and illustrations. A sixth species of rail Dryolimnas sp. nov. is described herein from fossils from Mauritius, but was not unequivocally previously reported in the contemporary literature. This paper provides an analysis of the Rallidae of the Mascarene Islands based on existing and newly discovered fossil remains, and details historical reports and accounts. Comprehensive osteological descriptions and synonymies are also included. Their ecology and extinction chronologies are interpreted from historical ev­idence. The relationships of Aphanapteryx and Erythromachus are unresolved, having clearly been isolated for a considerable time; the middle Miocene is the earliest their ancestors could have arrived on the Mascarenes, but this may have happened more recently. Mascarene derivatives of Fulica, Porphyrio and Dryolimnas are of much more recent origin, and appear to have originated in Africa or Madagascar. All terrestrial rails on Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues, were probable victims of cat predation following their historic introduction to the islands, whereas over-hunting by humans was probably the primary cause of extinction of ‘Porphyrio caerulescens’ on Réunion. The only extant rail on the Mascarenes today, the Madagascar race of Eurasian Moorhen Gallinula chloropus pyrrhorrhoa, is a recent arrival, having colonised Mauritius and Réunion after the extinction of Fulica newtonii.

Keywords: Aves, Mascarene rails, Rallidae, Aphanapteryx, Erythromachus, Dryolimnas, Porphyrio, Gallinula, Leguatia, extinction, affinities, ecology, sexual dimorphism

An almost complete, associated skeleton of Aphanapteryx bonasia (MI 923) collected by Etienne Thirioux in September 1899 in the Vallée des Prêtres, Moka Range, mid-west Mauritius. Scale bar = 200 mm

Julian Pender Hume. 2019. Systematics, Morphology and Ecology of Rails (Aves: Rallidae) of the Mascarene Islands, with One New Species. Zootaxa. 4626(1); 1–107. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4626.1.1

[Ornithology • 2019] Atlantisia rogersi • The Origin of the World’s Smallest Flightless Bird, the Inaccessible Island Rail (Aves: Rallidae)

Atlantisia rogersi Lowe, 1923

in Stervander, Ryan, Melo & Hansson, 2018. 

DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.007 

 twitter.com/nesospiza

Highlights

• Atlantisia rogersi colonized Inaccessible Island from S. America 1.5 million years ago.

• Its closest relative is the Dot-winged Rail Porzana spiloptera.

 • The well-supported clade also contains Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis.

• We advise conservative taxonomic changes: Laterallus rogersi, L. spilopterus.

• Further sampling of the ‘Laterallus clade’ required for a fully resolved phylogeny.

Abstract

Rails (Aves: Rallidae) are renowned for their extreme dispersal capability, which has given rise to numerous island lineages. Many insular species lost the ability to fly as a response to release from predator pressure—a feature causing rapid extinction when humans subsequently introduced mammals. The world’s smallest extant flightless bird, the Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi, is endemic to Inaccessible Island, Tristan da Cunha archipelago, in the central South Atlantic Ocean. It is placed in a monotypic genus, but its taxonomic affinity, as well as geographic origin, are disputed. Contrary to its suggested Old World origin, we demonstrate that the Inaccessible Island Rail is nested within the mainly South American ‘Laterallus clade’ and that it colonized ≥3 million-year-old Inaccessible Island from South America c. 1.5 million years ago. The taxonomy of rails has traditionally been based on morphology, and convergent evolution has caused many cases of misclassification. We suggest a re-classification within the ‘Laterallus clade’ and call for extended coverage of taxon sampling for DNA sequencing.

Keywords: Colonization, Oceanic islands, Phylogeny, Phylogeography, Taxonomy

Fig. 1. (A) Map showing the location of Inaccessible Island of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, and distances to continents and islands (the latter not drawn to scale). The approximate range of Dot-winged Crake Porzana spiloptera, sister species of the Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi, is shown with grey shading.

Fig. 1.  (B) Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi (photo: P.G.R.). (C) Dot-winged Crake Porzana spiloptera (photo: Alec Earnshaw). (D) Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis, which is sister to B and C (photo: Chuck Streker). (E) Galápagos Crake Laterallus spilonota (photo: Jaime Chaves), which is presumed to belong to the same clade as B–D.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.007 

 twitter.com/nesospiza 

 Martin Stervander, Peter G. Ryan, Martim Melo and Bengt Hansson. 2018. The Origin of the World’s Smallest Flightless Bird, the Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi (Aves: Rallidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 130; 92-98.  DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.007 

 twitter.com/nesospiza/status/1053023509515923456

 twitter.com/IBIS_journal/status/1052907427929223168

[Ornithology • 2018] Coturnicops exquisitus • Discovery of A New Breeding Population of the Vulnerable Swinhoe’s Rail confirmed by Genetic Analysis

 Swinhoe’s Rail Coturnicops exquisitus  (Swinhoe, 1873)

in Heim, Trense, Heim, et al., 2018. 

  DOI: 10.1017/S0959270918000138

  twitter.com/KampJohannes 

Summary

The ‘Vulnerable’ Swinhoe’s Rail Coturnicops exquisitus is believed to occur in only two regions in Russia’s Far East and China’s Heilongjiang province, separated by more than 1,000 km. Recent observations suggest that the Amur region, situated between the two known populations, might be inhabited by this secretive species as well. As the species is rather similar in appearance and field characteristics to its Nearctic sister taxon, the Yellow Rail C. noveboracensis, and almost all field records relate to flushed individuals in flight, we aimed to complement the field observations by genetic evidence. Samples were obtained from four individuals and one eggshell and their mitochondrial cytochrome b genes were amplified and sequenced. The genetic analyses unequivocally confirmed that swab samples and eggshell were attributable to Swinhoe’s Rail, thus constituting the first known breeding record of this species for 110 years. It is therefore likely that the individuals observed in the field also belonged to this species. It seems possible that Swinhoe’s Rail is more widely distributed in the Amur region and was overlooked in the past, possibly due to a misleading description of its calls in the literature.

Wieland Heim, Daronja Trense, Arend Heim, Johannes Kamp, Sergei M. Smirenski, Michael Wink and Tom Wulf. 2018. Discovery of A New Breeding Population of the Vulnerable Swinhoe’s Rail Coturnicops exquisitus confirmed by Genetic Analysis. Bird Conservation International. DOI: 10.1017/S0959270918000138  

twitter.com/KampJohannes/status/1045320052550111232

[PaleoOrnithology • 2015] Five New Extinct Species of Rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean)

FIGURE 23. Artist reconstruction of the Rallus species described.
Rallus montivagorum n. sp., R. adolfocaesaris n. sp., R. lowei n. sp., R. carvaoensis n. sp. and R. minutus n. sp.

Colours are speculative. Art: Pau Oliver.  || DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4057.2.1

Abstract

Five new species of recently extinct rails from two Macaronesian archipelagoes (Madeira and Azores) are described. All the species are smaller in size than their presumed ancestor, the European rail Rallus aquaticus. Two species inhabited the Madeira archipelago: (1) Rallus lowei n. sp., the stouter of the species described herein, was a flightless rail with a robust tarsometatarsus and reduced wings that lived on Madeira Island; (2) Rallus adolfocaesaris n. sp., a flightless and more gracile species than its Madeiran counterpart, inhabited Porto Santo. So far, six Azorean islands have been paleontologically explored, and the remains of fossil rails have been found on all of them. Here we formally describe the best-preserved remains from three islands (Pico, São Miguel and São Jorge): (1) Rallus montivagorum n. sp., a rail smaller than R. aquaticus with a somewhat reduced flying capability, inhabited Pico; (2) Rallus carvaoensis n. sp., a small flightless rail with short and stout legs and a bill apparently more curved than in R. aquaticus, was restricted to São Miguel; (3) Rallus minutus n. sp., a very small (approaching Atlantisia rogersi in size) flightless rail with a shortened robust tarsometatarsus, lived in São Jorge. We note also the presence of rail fossils on three other Azorean islands (Terceira, Graciosa and Santa Maria). In addition, we describe an extraordinarily complete fossil of an unnamed Rallus preserved in silica from the locality of Algar do Carvão on Terceira.

Keywords: Aves, Extinction, Macaronesia, Quaternary, Rallus lowei n. sp., R. adolfocaesaris n. sp., R. carvaoensis n. sp., R. montivagorum n. sp., R. minutus n. sp.

The five new species discovered in Madeira and Azores. From left to right: Rallus carvaoensis, R. adolfocaesaris, R. montivagorum, R. lowei, R. "minutus".

FIGURE 18. Photograph of a silicified specimen of Rallus sp. B from Algar do Carvão, Terceira.  

Scale bar of A: 4 cm. || DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4057.2.1

Alcover, Josep A., Harald Pieper, Fernando Pereira & Juan C. Rando. 2015. Five New Extinct Species of Rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa.  4057(2): 151–200. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4057.2.1
http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2015/f/z04057p190f.pdf

https://twitter.com/Synapsida/status/674887953458569216

The five bird species that Darwin couldn't discover in Madeira and the Azores http://phy.so/372673252 via @physorg_com

Juan C. García-R, Gillian C. Gibb and Steve A. Trewick. 2014. Eocene Diversification of Crown Group Rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae). PLOS ONE

http://www.massey.ac.nz/~strewick/PDFs/Garcia%20et%20al.%202014-PLOS%20ONE.pdf

Resumo: São descritas como novas para a ciência cinco espécies de Frangos-de-água recentemente extintas da Macaronésia. Todas estas espécies são mais pequenas do que o seu presumível antepassado o Frango-de-água Europeu Rallus aquaticus. Duas destas espécies novas ocorrem no arquipélago da Madeira. Rallus lowei n. sp., viveu na Ilha da Madeira sendo de todas as cinco espécies aqui descritas a mais robusta, tratando-se de uma espécie sem capacidade de voo com tarsometatarso curto e robusto e asas reduzidas. Rallus adolfocaesaris n. sp., viveu em Porto Santo, também sem capacidadede voo é uma espécie mais pequena do que a espécie da Madeira. Seis ilhas dos Açores foram até agora investigadas em termos paleontológicos e em todas elas encontrámos fósseis de Frangos-de-água. Em três das ilhas encontrámos material suficiente para uma descrição adequada das suas espécies de Frango-de-água actualmente extinctos. Rallus montivagorum n. sp., com reduzida capacidade de voo, mais pequeno que Rallus aquaticus, viveu na ilha do Pico. Rallus carvaoensis n. sp., foi uma espécie pequena sem capacidade de voo com pernas curtas e grossas e um bico aparentemente mais curto do que em Rallus aquaticus, viveu em São Miguel. Rallus minutus n. sp., uma espécie muito pequena (tamanho parecido com Atlantisia rogersi) também sem capacidade de voo e com tarsometatarso curto e robusto, viveu em São Jorge. O material encontrado nas ilhas Terceira, Graciosa e Santa Maria foi insuficiente para a descrição das suas espécies. Em adição, descrevomos um fossil notável de um Rallus encontrado no Algar do Carvão na ilha Terceira.

[Ornithology • 2015] Paragallinula gen. nov. • A New Genus for the Lesser Moorhen Gallinula angulata Sundevall, 1850 (Aves, Rallidae)

Fig. 2. Lesser Moorhen Paragallinula angulata Sundevall, 1850, 
Kgomo Kgomo, South Africa, Feb. 2011 (photo by Mark Tittley).
This photograph illustrates two diagnostic character states differentiating Paragallinula from the genus Gallinula: the orange colouration on the frontal shield does not cover the entire shield, and the lack of a contrasting reddish band on the legs proximal to the ankle joint.

DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2015.153

Abstract

Molecular phylogenetic analysis has demonstrated that the genus Gallinula is not monophyletic and comprises four major lineages. A review of the nomenclature of Gallinula shows that generic names are available for three lineages but that a fourth is as yet unnamed. A new monotypic genus, Paragallinula gen. nov., is described for Lesser Moorhen (Gallinula angulata Sundevall, 1850).

Key words: Gallinules, morphology, nomenclature, Paragallinula gen. nov., phylogenetics

Class Aves Linnaeus, 1758

Order Gruiformes (Bonaparte, 1854)

Family Rallidae (Rafinesque, 1815)

Paragallinula gen. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:909AC100-559E-4CA3-BC7E-E6FD87002E30

Type species: Gallinula angulata Sundevall, 1850. Monotypic.

Etymology: The generic name is derived from the Greek para (beside) and the Latin gallinula (a little hen or chicken). It denotes the resemblance of P. angulata to species of Gallinula but highlights that they are independent evolutionary lineages. The gender of the name is feminine.

Distribution: Paragallinula angulata is found in most of the African continent from Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

George Sangster, Juan Carlos Garcia-R and Steve A. Trewick. 2015. A New Genus for the Lesser Moorhen Gallinula angulata Sundevall, 1850 (Aves, Rallidae). European Journal of Taxonomy.  153: 1–8. DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2015.153

ResearchGate.net/publication/283901793_A_new_genus_for_the_Lesser_Moorhen_Gallinula_angulata_Sundevall_1850_(Aves_Rallidae)

[Ornithology • 2015] Dispersal and Speciation in Purple Swamphens (Rallidae: Porphyrio)

Location (top) and genetic relationship between different swamphen populations. The genetic relationships were found using two types of DNA: mitochondrial (bottom left) and nuclear (bottom right). Circles with multiple colours show interbreeding between populations.

ABSTRACT

Dispersal, when accompanied by reduced gene flow and natural selection, influences speciation rates among groups of organisms. We used molecular phylogenetics, divergence time estimates, and population genetics to reconstruct the mode, pattern, and tempo of diversification within the wide-ranging purple swamphens (genus Porphyrio), with emphasis on the “supertramp” P. porphyrio. Our results suggest that the Porphyrio clade arose during the Middle Miocene in Africa, with a single colonization in the Americas and several other colonizations in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific around 10 mya. We found that the widespread P. porphyrio is not monophyletic. Indeed, several subspecies and subspecies groups may represent species-level lineages. The P. p. melanotus lineage probably reached Australasia during the Pleistocene (600 kya), although some islands were colonized only in the past few hundred years. New Zealand, and some other islands, had previously been colonized (∼2.5 mya) by flying Porphyrio that evolved into flightless endemic species. Early and recent lineages are now sympatric. Widespread occupation of oceanic islands implies high dispersal and colonization rates, but gene flow probably occurs episodically and follows varying routes at different times. This pattern of colonization enables populations to differentiate and, ultimately, speciate.

Keywords: biogeography, dispersal, phylogeny, speciation

  

Juan C. Garcia-R. and Steve A. Trewick. 2015. Dispersal and Speciation in Purple Swamphens (Rallidae: Porphyrio) [Dispersión y especiación en las gallinas de agua (Rallidae: Porphyrio)]. 

The Auk. 132(1):140-155. DOI: 10.1642/AUK-14-114.1

New research finds Takahe have African cousins
  http://phy.so/340968603 via @physorg_com