A new paper not yet mentioned.
N.M.A. Crouch, K. Ramanauskas, and B. IgiÄ (2018)
Tip-dating and the origin of Telluraves
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.006
Despite a relatively vast accumulation of molecular data, the timing of
diversification of modern bird lineages remains elusive. Accurate dating
of the origination of Telluravesâa clade of birds defined by their
arborealityâis of particular interest, as it contains the most
species-rich avian group, the passerines. Historically, neontological
studies have estimated a Cretaceous origin for the group, but more
recent studies have recovered Cenozoic dates, closer to the oldest known
fossils for the group. We employ total-evidence dating to estimate
divergence times that are expected to be both less sensitive to prior
assumptions and more accurate. Specifically, we use a large collection
of morphological character data from arboreal bird fossils, along with
combined molecular sequence and morphological character data from extant
taxa. Our analyses recover a Late Cretaceous origin for crown
Telluraves, with a few lineages crossing the K-Pg boundary. Following
the K-Pg boundary, our results show the group underwent rapid
diversification, likely benefiting from increased ecological
opportunities in the aftermath of the extinction event. We find very
little confidence for the precise topological placement of many extinct
taxa, possibly due to rapid diversification, paucity of character data,
and rapid morphological differentiation during the early history of the
group.
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Of note is that this study includes the assembly of one of the largest
morphological phylogenetic datasets for crown-group birds to date (782
characters). Unfortunately, the supplementary material doesn't appear to be available yet. Strangely, none of the raptorial telluravian clades
(Accipitriformes/morphae, Strigiformes, and Falconiformes) were sampled,
nor was Cariamiformes. Given that these groups are among the
earliest-diverging lineages of Telluraves and have been suggested to
represent the ancestral ecology of the group, one wonders how they might influence the analysis.