The evolution of tinamous (Palaeognathae: Tinamidae) in the light of combined analysis of molecular and morphologic data.

BERTELLI, SARA; CUNHA ALMEIDA, F.; PORZECANSKI, A.L.; CRACRAFT, J.

Puerto Iguazu

Congreso; Ornithological Congress of the Americas, XVIII RAO, XXIV CBO, XC AFO; 2017

Tinamous,one of the earliest diverging living avian lineages, consists of aNeotropical clade ofbirds inhabiting forested as well as open environmoents. Althoughvolant, the flight capabilities of these birds are limited. Numerousstudies have recognized the monophyly of tinamous and theirrelationships to the flightless ratites (ostriches, emus and theirrelatives), placing both groups within palaeognaths, a sister cladeto all extant birds (Neoaves). In spite of this body of work, thephylogenetic relationhips among species of tinamous remainedoverlooked until recently. Here wereview the interrelationships of the fossil and living tinamous anddiscusspreliminary results a phylogenetic hypothesis based on molecularevidence and combining morphology and DNA sequences are alsoreported. Theseresults are used to evaluate the diversification patterns in theevolutionary history of the group and to compare the timing of theseevents as inferred from the fossil record evidence to calibratetinamou phylogeny.