Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell uncovers hidden lineage of giant extinct bird

Alicia Grealy (), Gifford H. Miller (), Matthew J. Phillips, Simon J. Clarke, Marilyn Fogel, Diana Patalwala, Paul Rigby, Alysia Hubbard, Beatrice Demarchi, Matthew Collins, Meaghan Mackie, Jorune Sakalauskaite, Josefin Stiller, Julia A. Clarke, Lucas J. Legendre, Kristina Douglass, James Hansford, James Haile and Michael Bunce
Additional contact information
Alicia Grealy: Curtin University
Gifford H. Miller: University of Colorado
Matthew J. Phillips: Queensland University of Technology
Simon J. Clarke: Integrity Ag & Environment
Marilyn Fogel: University of California Riverside
Diana Patalwala: The University of Western Australia
Paul Rigby: The University of Western Australia
Alysia Hubbard: The University of Western Australia
Beatrice Demarchi: University of Turin
Matthew Collins: University of Copenhagen
Meaghan Mackie: University of Copenhagen
Jorune Sakalauskaite: University of Turin
Josefin Stiller: University of Copenhagen
Julia A. Clarke: The University of Texas at Austin
Lucas J. Legendre: The University of Texas at Austin
Kristina Douglass: Columbia University
James Hansford: Zoological Society of London
James Haile: Oxford University
Michael Bunce: Curtin University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract The systematics of Madagascar’s extinct elephant birds remains controversial due to large gaps in the fossil record and poor biomolecular preservation of skeletal specimens. Here, a molecular analysis of 1000-year-old fossil eggshells provides the first description of elephant bird phylogeography and offers insight into the ecology and evolution of these flightless giants. Mitochondrial genomes from across Madagascar reveal genetic variation that is correlated with eggshell morphology, stable isotope composition, and geographic distribution. The elephant bird crown is dated to ca. 30 Mya, when Madagascar is estimated to have become less arid as it moved northward. High levels of between-clade genetic variation support reclassifying Mullerornis into a separate family. Low levels of within-clade genetic variation suggest there were only two elephant bird genera existing in southern Madagascar during the Holocene. However, we find an eggshell collection from Madagascar’s far north that represents a unique lineage of Aepyornis. Furthermore, divergence within Aepyornis coincides with the aridification of Madagascar during the early Pleistocene ca. 1.5 Ma, and is consistent with the fragmentation of populations in the highlands driving diversification and the evolution of extreme gigantism over shorts timescales. We advocate for a revision of their taxonomy that integrates palaeogenomic and palaeoecological perspectives.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36405-3

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