Aptornis defossor (South Island Adzebill)

[surroundx]

Wood, Jamie R., Scofield, R. Paul, Hamel, Jill, Lalas, Chris and Wilmshurst, Janet M. (2017). Bone stable isotopes indicate a high trophic position for New Zealand’s extinct South Island adzebill (Aptornis defossor) (Gruiformes: Aptornithidae). New Zealand Journal of Ecology 41(2): [pagination?].

[surroundx]

Trotter, M. M. (1965). Avian remains from North Otago archaeological sites. Notornis 12(3): 176-178. ["Aptornis otidiformis", but from the South Island and therefore likely referable to A. defossor]

[surroundx]

Seersholm, Frederik V. et al. (2018). Subsistence practices, past biodiversity, and anthropogenic impacts revealed by New Zealand-wide ancient DNA survey. PNAS. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1803573115 [Supplementary information]

[Melanie]

Alexander P. Boast, Brendan Chapman, Michael B. Herrera, Trevor H. Worthy, R. Paul Scofield, Alan J. D. Tennyson, Peter Houde, Michael Bunce, Alan Cooper and Kieren J. Mitchell (2019)

Mitochondrial Genomes from New Zealand’s Extinct Adzebills (Aves: Aptornithidae: Aptornis) Support a Sister-Taxon Relationship with the Afro-Madagascan Sarothruridae

Diversity 2019, 11(2): 24

www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/2/24

Abstract

The recently extinct New Zealand adzebills (Aptornithidae, Aptornis spp.) were an enigmatic group of large flightless birds that have long eluded precise taxonomic assignment as they do not closely resemble any extant birds. Adzebills were nearly wingless, weighed approximately 16–19 kg, and possessed massive adze-like reinforced bills whose function remains unknown. Using hybridisation enrichment and high-throughput sequencing of DNA extracted from subfossil bone and eggshell, near-complete mitochondrial genomes were successfully assembled from the two Quaternary adzebill species: the North Island Adzebill (Aptornis otidiformis) and South Island Adzebill (A. defossor). Molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm that adzebills are members of the Ralloidea (rails and allies) and are sister-taxon to the Sarothruridae, which our results suggest comprises the Madagascan wood rails (Mentocrex, two likely sp.) in addition to the tiny (<50 gram) rail-like Afro-Madagascan flufftails (Sarothrura, 9 spp.). Node age estimates indicate that the split between adzebills and Sarothruridae occurred ~39.6 Ma, suggesting that the ancestors of the adzebills arrived in New Zealand by long-distance dispersal rather than continental vicariance. This newly identified biogeographic link between physically distant New Zealand and Afro-Madagascar, echoed by the relationship between the New Zealand kiwi (Apterygiformes) and Madagascan elephant-birds (Aepyornithiformes), suggests that the adzebill’s near relatives were formerly more widespread. In addition, our estimate for the divergence time between the two Quaternary adzebill species (0.2–2.3 Ma) coincides with the emergence of a land-bridge between the North and South islands of New Zealand (ca. 1.5–2 Ma). This relatively recent divergence suggests that North Island adzebills are the result of a relatively recent dispersal from the South Island, from which the earliest (Miocene) adzebill fossil has been described.

[Sebbe]

A New Morphological Dataset Reveals a Novel Relationship for the Adzebills of New Zealand (Aptornis) and Provides a Foundation for Total Evidence Neoavian Phylogenetics.

Relationships among Neoaves, a group comprising approximately 95% of all extant birds, are difficult to resolve because of multiple short internodes presumably created by a rapid evolutionary radiation around the K/Pg boundary. This difficulty has plagued both morphological and molecular studies. Compared with molecular studies with extensive taxon and character sampling, morphological datasets have largely failed to provide insight into the phenotypic evolutionary transitions of the neoavian radiation. Extinct neoavian taxa remain an understudied but critical key to resolving relationships among these problematic stem lineages and understanding evolutionary changes in structure and function. Adzebills (Aptornis), some of the most phylogenetically controversial fossil neoavians, are extinct terrestrial birds endemic to New Zealand since at least the early Miocene. Past morphological studies have placed adzebills as a sister taxon to the flightless Kagu of New Caledonia (Rhynochetos jubatus) or to the land- and waterfowl group Galloanseres. Recent molecular studies reveal the Kagu and Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias) to be sister taxa, whereas adzebills have been postulated to be within Rallidae (rails, gallinules, and coots) or the sister taxon of Sarothruridae (flufftails) or Ralloidea (finfoots, flufftails, and rails). To better resolve the position of adzebills and begin constructing a fine-scale total evidence phylogenetic dataset for the base of Neoaves, we constructed a new and more comprehensive morphological dataset of 368 discrete osteological characters for 38 extant and two extinct taxa that includes extensive sampling of nearly all neoavian stem lineages. We then combined this dataset with 32 DNA sequences of the slowly evolving nuclear RAG1 and RAG2 genes. Morphological results place adzebills as the sister taxon of trumpeters (Psophia) within core Gruiformes and confirm strong support for a Kagu+Sunbittern sister group (99% bootstrap value). Results for analyses of the combined data were identical, and the adzebill+trumpeter clade was supported by a 99% Bayesian clade credibility value. Although the Kagu+Sunbittern sister group is consistent with recent molecular hypotheses, the adzebill+trumpeter group is novel.

bioone.org/journals/American-Museum-Novitates/volume-2019/issue-3927/3927.1/A-New-Morphological-Dataset-Reveals-a-Novel-Relationship-for-the/10.1206/3927.1.short

[Sebbe]

Augustus Hamilton’s fossil collection at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Augustus Hamilton (1853–1913) was a New Zealand ethnologist and naturalist who amassed a significant collection of fossils, mostly of birds, during his career. Today, those fossils are housed in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). While some fossils have been catalogued and integrated into the collection of the NMNZ, a large part remained unsorted and uncatalogued. The present study brings an integrated view of Hamilton’s collection at the NMNZ, highlighting the most significant fossils. In total, there are 3692 specimen lots collected by Hamilton in the NMNZ representing a large sample of taxa and a wide range of locations around Aotearoa New Zealand. Most fossils are of Holocene age and belong to birds. The collection includes type specimens, circa 250 specimen lots belonging to extinct species, and specimens belonging to otherwise poorly represented species in natural history collections. We hope that our study makes Hamilton’s fossils visible and more readily available for future research.

tuhinga.arphahub.com/article/97731/

[redpinnipedgamer]

Possible depiction of a South Island Adzebill??? ( bottom right)  though since Maori rock art is extremely abdstract in it's stylization hard to say if it depicts the bird specifically.






Below are some concept art I did for a project that the body pattern is loosely inspired by the petroglyph