African neognaths

["Brian Lauret" <zthemanvirus@hotmail.com>]

The African neognaths

With all the recent studies regarding the placental radiation,and the 
subsequent "discovery" of Afrotheria,one might wonder if the same holds true 
for Tertiary neognaths.I've been examining evidence for neognaths evolution 
en geographic origin,based on fossil evidence and DNA-studies to look wether 
there are groups wich might have been ancestrally African.All in all I came 
to this conclusion,and I would like to know what certain people on the list 
think about it.A reply would thus be nice.

I found these groups to be ancestrally African:

-the "stork-cathartid-pelican-shoebill-hamerkop"-grouping (I will refer to 
them as the suborder Ciconii of an order Ciconiiformes also including 
cormorants,anhingas,gannets,pelagornithids and possibly tropicbirds and 
teratorns.)These groups of bird have except for cathartids and pelicans all 
their earliest fossil members African. Storks are first represented by 
Palaeoephipiorynchus from the Fayum (Early Oligocene) formations of 
Egypt.Later members also appear,totally different from other 
birds,elsewhere.This seems suggestive of an non-Eurasian,non-American origin 
for these birds. I think they may have spread out of Africa together with 
Afrotherian emblithopods and desmostylians wich are also found in the 
Oligocene outside their original African range.
Cathartids seem to be their closest relatives but first appear in Eocene 
Europe,they aren't found as fossils in Africa but they may have developed 
their eventual form after spreading from that continent. During the early 
Palaeogene we do actually have some traffic between Europe and Africa in 
either direction.(creodonts,primates and marsupials to,and ostriches from 
Africa.)
The three remaining groups are connected with the former two by a number of 
characters and DNA-studies,and are in my eyes an essentially African 
group.Shoebills and hamerkops have never been found outside Africa and 
pelicans first appear as fossils during the Early Miocene in Europe.And 
surprise,surprise,it was at this time that Africa and Eurasia became 
connected.This group,the "Pelecanoidea" seems an early African radiation of 
inland freshwaterbirds only able to leave their homes after this became 
connected with another landmass.

-The musophagids or touracos.Their first fossils are also from the 
Fayum,concordant with an African model of origin.Nevertheless,they are,as 
fossils,knowm from Europe but this is only in the Miocene.They could easily 
have spread from Africa to Eurasia in the Neogene,only to become extinct 
after some time.

-Parrots and colies. I think these two groups wich are really ancient and 
strange oddball-neognaths are each other's closest living relative.The way 
they originated and spread is more complex then that of the former 
groups,but can be explained.The most primitive living parrots,(and believe 
me I'm very familiar with parrots, I can know.)are the vasa-parrots 
Coracopsis from Madagascar,the Comoros and the Seychelles.The two species in 
this genus,vasa and nigra,are really weird and primitive,and originally 
African. I think they proof that the entire parrot-crown group originated in 
Africa,spreading across Antarctica to Australia and South America.The 
primitive Palaeogene quercypsittids are also African in my view and spread 
in the same way as cathartids,ostriches and,in my view,messelirisorids and 
"sandcoleiforms" did.Then being replaced in africa by modern parrots and 
later on in Europe as well,the oldest European modern parrot possibly being 
Archaeopsittacus from the Late Oligocene or (more likely)early Miocene of 
France.
Alltough the modern colies (Coliidae) are no doubt a recent Eurasian 
arrival,first evolving in Eurasia,their roots may have been African. I think 
these peculiar Palaeogene paraphyletic primitive coliiformes,called 
"sandcoleiforms" were an originally African assemblage finding it's earliest 
Paleogene way to europe at the same time as their quercypsittid 
relatives.Here they evolved into modern coliids wich later spread and 
repopulated Africa.
> From this it must be clear that I don't support the columbiform-psittaciform 
relation wich is usually advocated.

-the Bucerotimorphae.This grouping has been created by DNA-studies and is 
comprised of two orders,the Upupiformes or hoopoes 
(Upupidae,Phoenculidae,Rhinopomastidae and extinct Messelirisornithidae )and 
Bucerotiformes,the hornbills (Bucorvidae,Bucerotidae). A strange not to say 
bizarre grouping of birds.They first appear in Middle Eocene Messel with the 
Messelirisornithid hoopoes.These seem to have spread out of Africa in the 
same way and the same time as cathartids,quercypsittids and 
"sandcoleiforms".These seem to have become extinct at the Eocene-Oligocene 
boundary and no hoopoes are known from Eurasia until the Miocene.Again,we 
see, the Miocene.Again they could have spread from Africa.Only the upupids 
are present in modern Eurasia but the Miocene species were phoeniculids.
Hornbills have a disturbingly meager fossil record,despite some claims,not 
present in Palaeogene European fossil communities.There's only one fossil 
species-Bucorvus brailloni-from Early Miocene Morocco.Bucorvids are 
distinctive,ancient and only found in Africa. Within the bucerotids,the 
African representatives are phylogenetically more diverse,thus together with 
the fact that their closest relatives are African illustrating that this 
group is ancestrally African,only radiating in Asia after the Miocene.

-Buttonquails or turnicids. Remarkable birds, these little critters. Not 
related to any other group,according to DNA-studies these comprise a great 
ancient lineage of birds,representing the Turniciae.They are not known as 
fossils,despite great and informative fossil communities in Europe and North 
America.I think they are members of an ancient lineage of neognaths,possibly 
surviving there after the KT extinctions after being almost completely 
annihilated then.

This is it for now. I think there may be other ancestrally African 
groups,like the Passerida,mesites and columbinine pigeons but I won't 
discuss them cause I'm still trying to make up my mind regarding them and 
their origins.I would also like to mention the fact that I think,with grebes 
being flamingos closest relatives according to DNA-studies and them only 
appearing truly recognisable in the early Miocene,they may be derived and 
totally differently specialised derivatives from the junctitarsids.

I would really like to get some reactions on this as well as possible extra 
points of interest.