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. 2021 Mar;17(3):20200760.
doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0760. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Ancient DNA from the extinct Haitian cave-rail (Nesotrochis steganinos) suggests a biogeographic connection between the Caribbean and Old World

Jessica A Oswald  1   2 , Ryan S Terrill  3 , Brian J Stucky  2 , Michelle J LeFebvre  2 , David W Steadman  2 , Robert P Guralnick  2 , Julie M Allen  1   4
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Ancient DNA from the extinct Haitian cave-rail (Nesotrochis steganinos) suggests a biogeographic connection between the Caribbean and Old World

Jessica A Oswald et al. Biol Lett. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Worldwide decline in biodiversity during the Holocene has impeded a comprehensive understanding of pre-human biodiversity and biogeography. This is especially true on islands, because many recently extinct island taxa were morphologically unique, complicating assessment of their evolutionary relationships using morphology alone. The Caribbean remains an avian hotspot but was more diverse before human arrival in the Holocene. Among the recently extinct lineages is the enigmatic genus Nesotrochis, comprising three flightless species. Based on morphology, Nesotrochis has been considered an aberrant rail (Rallidae) or related to flufftails (Sarothruridae). We recovered a nearly complete mitochondrial genome of Nesotrochis steganinos from fossils, discovering that it is not a rallid but instead is sister to Sarothruridae, volant birds now restricted to Africa and New Guinea, and the recently extinct, flightless Aptornithidae of New Zealand. This result suggests a widespread or highly dispersive most recent common ancestor of the group. Prior to human settlement, the Caribbean avifauna had a far more cosmopolitan origin than is evident from extant species.

Keywords: Anthropocene; Gruiformes; Holocene extinction; avian phylogeny; island diversity.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
RAxML phylogeny of the Gruiformes based on the Gblocks dataset (dataset 2). The bootstrap support for the sister relationship of Nesotrochis steganinos to Sarothruridae + Aptornithidae is 100% yet the phylogenetic relationships within this clade are not resolved. See electronic supplementary material, figures S1 and S2 for the alternative topology, where N. steganinos is sister to Sarothruridae (based on dataset 1). The N. steganinos pedal phalanx from which aDNA was extracted is shown next to the tip name.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The distribution of Nesotrochis (green) within the Caribbean, Sarothruridae (blue) in Africa and New Guinea, and Aptornithidae (red) in New Zealand. Both Nesotrochis and Aptornithidae are extinct and are the most closely related lineages to Sarorthruridae. Image credits: ‘Nesotrochis': T. Michael Keesey and Hutty Mcphoo, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/; ‘Sarothrura': Ryan S. Terrill; and Aptornis otidiformis: N. Tamura.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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