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    Flightless birds known as ratites evolved in isolated locations and display vestigial wings. While initially thought to share a common ancestor due to their distribution, recent evidence shows flight was lost multiple times convergently. Molecular studies have helped clarify ratite relationships, grouping them in the superorder Palaeognathae and order Struthioniformes.

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    Flightless birds known as ratites evolved in isolated locations and display vestigial wings. While initially thought to share a common ancestor due to their distribution, recent evidence shows flight was lost multiple times convergently. Molecular studies have helped clarify ratite relationships, grouping them in the superorder Palaeognathae and order Struthioniformes.

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    16 views1 page

    Bird Present

    Uploaded by

    Moneydogg
    Flightless birds known as ratites evolved in isolated locations and display vestigial wings. While initially thought to share a common ancestor due to their distribution, recent evidence shows flight was lost multiple times convergently. Molecular studies have helped clarify ratite relationships, grouping them in the superorder Palaeognathae and order Struthioniformes.

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    of 1

    Evolution of ratite birds (Figure 1) – map of The distribution of ratite birds

    ratite species across many diverse isolated


    Flightless birds, or ratites, are a diverse distribution [1] island habitat led scientists to
    group that have evolved in believe that the group shared on
    geographically isolated locations (Figure 1). common ancestor (the
    The first attempt to classify flightless vicariance biogeography
    birds was made by Thomas Huxley, who hypothesis) [4], but recent
    defined the ratitae as birds that lacked a evidence has shown flight loss is
    keeled sternum - a protrusion of the more likely to have evolved
    ribcage that flight tissues would connect multiply times throughout ratite
    to in birds [2]. Ratites display vestigial evolutionary history, as an
    wings as a result of energy conservation interesting example of the
    in development [3]. convergent evolution process
    (Figure 2) – References
    and analogous morphology [5].
    Recent studies have
    phylogenetic [1] - Noble, J.C., 1991. On ratites and their interaction with plants. Revista
    tree of ratite grouped the ratites into the Chilena de Historia Natural 64, 85-118.
    species [6] superorder Palaeognathae, [2] - Huxley, T.H., 1867. On the Classification of Birds: And on the
    and the order Taxonomic Value of the Modifications of Certain of the Cranial Bones
    Observed in that Class.
    Struthioniformes (Figure 2). The [3] - Dawson, A., 1996a. Neoteny and the thyroid in ratites. Reproduction
    use of molecular and 1, 78-81.
    mitochondrial DNA studies [4] - Feduccia, A., 1999. The Origin and Evolution of Birds, second edn.
    Nature, Yale University Press.
    to classify and organize the [5] - Smith, J.V., Braun, E.L., Kimball, R.T., 2013. Ratite nonmonophyly:
    evolutionary tree of ratite Independent evidence from 40 novel loci. Systematic Biology 62.
    birds is a main focus in [6] - Harshman, J.B et al., 2008. Phylogenomic evidence for multiple losses
    of flight in ratite birds. PNAS 105.
    clarifying classification[5]. [Background] -
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    LaxbrRvvE/s1600/emu-bird-1.jpg>

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