Continental drift, paleoclimatology, and the evolution and biogeography of birds

• Published in: Journal of Zoology
• Main Author: Cracraft, Joel
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1973
• Subjects: North Atlantic; Beringia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1973.tb03122.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1469-7998.1973.tb03122.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1973.tb03122.x; https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1973.tb03122.x

An analysis is presented of the influence that late Mesozoic and Tertiary paleogeography and paleoclimatology may have had on the evolution and biogeography of birds. Many intercontinental connections, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, persisted until the late Cretaceous and/or early Tertiary. Moreover, climates at these times were warmer and more equable than in the late Tertiary, and birds could breed in and disperse through high latitudes. It is concluded that a number of avian orders and families had their origin in Gondwanaland and predrift configurations of the continents were major determinants of their biogeography. Penguins, ratites, galliforms, and suboscines among others are the best examples. Tropical‐subtropical Eurasia was probably the centre of origin for the oscines, and primitive stocks entered the New World mostly through Beringia and mostly prior to the Miocene (but also via a North Atlantic land connection prior to the early Eocene). Continental drift and paleoclimatology have clearly influenced the evolution and biogeography of birds, and future advances in the systematics of the higher taxa will undoubtedly provide further confirmation of this.