The first occurrence in the fossil record of an aquatic avian twig-nest with Phoenicopteriformes eggs: evolutionary implications.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We describe the first occurrence in the fossil record of an aquatic avian twig-nest with five eggs in situ (Early Miocene Tudela Formation, Ebro Basin, Spain). Extensive outcrops of this formation reveal autochthonous avian osteological and oological fossils that represent a single taxon identified as a basal phoenicopterid. Although the eggshell structure is definitively phoenicopterid, the characteristics of both the nest and the eggs are similar to those of modern grebes. These observations allow us to address the origin of the disparities between the sister taxa Podicipedidae and Phoenicopteridae crown clades, and traces the evolution of the nesting and reproductive environments for phoenicopteriforms.

Methodology/principal findings

Multi-disciplinary analyses

SUBMITTER: Grellet-Tinner G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3474766 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature