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Prophaethontid
> EARLIEST AFRICAN NEORNITHINE BIRD: A NEW SPECIES OF PROPHAETHONTIDAE (AVES)
> FROM THE PALEOCENE OF MOROCCO. ESTELLE BOURDON, BAÂDI BOUYA, and
> MOHAMED IAROCHENE. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25 (1): 157-170. 2005.
"A new taxon of the Prophaethontidae (Aves) is described from the phosphatic
beds of the Ouled Abdoun Basin, Morocco. Lithoptila abdounensis gen. et sp.
nov. is represented by a single, well-preserved neurocranium, dated as upper
Paleocene (Thanetian) on the basis of the selachians identified in the
matrix. This specimen is the oldest known African neornithine bird and the
oldest record of the Prophaethontidae. It bears some striking resemblance to
Prophaethon shrubsolei Andrews, 1899, from the lower Eocene (Ypresian)
London Clay of the Isle of Sheppey, England. Aside from general proportions
of the neurocranium, this new taxon differs from Prophaethon shrubsolei in
many respects, such as the shape and position of the crista temporalis,
impressio glandulae nasalis, surface of contact with the os lacrimale, and
tuberculum basilare. This justifies its assignment to a new genus and
species. A cladistic analysis of 47 osteological characters supports the
monophyly of the Prophaethontidae and a sister-group relationship between
the Prophaethontidae and Phaethontidae. The Pelecaniformes are polyphyletic,
and the clade comprising the Phaethontidae and Prophaethontidae is the
sister-group of the Procellariiformes."
The tree found:
0--Tinamidae
|--+--Spheniscidae
| `--+--Gaviidae
| `--Podicipedidae
`--+--+--Scopidae
| `--+--Balaenicipitidae
| `--Steganopodes
`--+--Phaethontes
`--Procellariiformes
The similarity to Mayr (2003) isn't surprising, as the data-set is
mostly based on Mayr. To a certain degree, though, the topology seems to be
affected by the 'ecotype-sorting' that Mickey recently commented on with
relation to mammalian phylogeny. The poor-flying divers group together,
while the more aerial taxa form the other clade. The two metavian taxa
(Podicipedidae and Phaethontes) don't cluster together - make of that what
you will.
Cheers,
Christopher Taylor