Molecular and morphological evidences place the extinct New Zealand endemic Turnagra capensis in the Oriolidae.

• The affinities of Piopio Turnagra capensis, an extinct New Zealand passerine, remain poorly known. It has been included into or associated with several bird families (Calleatidae, Cracticidae, Pachycephalidae, Ptilonorhynchidae, Turdidae), often on tenuous grounds. We reassessed Turnagra phylogenetic relationships using nuclear and mitochondrial sequences and a set of morphological and behavioural traits. Molecular and phenotypic characters strongly suggest a novel hypothesis, congruently placing Turnagra in Oriolidae, a highly dispersive corvoid family distributed from the Austro-Papuan landmass to Eurasia and Africa, but missing from the Pacific islands. We show also that the published molecular support to link Turnagra with Ptilonorhynchidae was biased by the use of incorrect genetic data and weak analyses.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Biologisk systematik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Biological Systematics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Dispersal

Osteology

Extinct birds

Turnagra

Oriolidae

Archival DNA

Livets mångfald

Diversity of life

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)