Abstract
Zygodactylidae are an extinct lineage of perching birds characterized by distinct morphologies of the foot and wing elements. Although the clade has a complex taxonomic history, current hypotheses place Zygodactylidae as the sister taxon to Passeriformes (i.e., songbirds). Given the rather sparse fossil record of early passeriforms, the description of zygodactylid taxa is important for inferring potentially ancestral states in the largest radiation of living birds (i.e., the ∼6,000 species of extant passeriforms). Despite the exceptional preservation of many specimens and considerable species diversity in Zygodactylidae, the relationships among species have not been previously evaluated in a phylogenetic context. Herein, we review the fossil record of Zygodactylidae from North America and describe five new well-preserved fossils from the early Eocene Green River Formation of Wyoming. Two specimens are identified as representing a new species and the first records of the taxon Zygodactylus outside Europe. Anatomical comparisons with previously named taxa and the results of phylogenetic analysis including newly described specimens and previously named zygodactylid taxa provide the first hypothesis of the species-level relationships among zygodactylids. The monophyly of Zygodactylidae is supported in these new analyses. However, the monophyly of Primozygodactylus and the taxonomic distinction between Zygodactylus and Eozygodactylus remain unresolved and would likely benefit from the description of additional specimens.
Highlights
Zygodactylidae Brodkorb, 1971 is an extinct, comparatively species-rich clade of enigmatic birds that possess derived morphological features associated with a perching habitus (Mayr, 2008, 2009, 2015)
Diagnosis Zygodactylus grandei sp. nov. is unique among taxa referred to Zygodactylidae in having a femur which is shorter than the humerus (Appendix I, character 21)
The North American species Z. grandei and E. americanus were recovered as sister taxa to the exclusion of the European species Z. luberonensis in our phylogenetic results, suggesting that the synonymization of Eozygodactylus with Zygodactylus should be considered as additional specimens representing these and other potential Zygodactylus species are described
Summary
Zygodactylidae Brodkorb, 1971 is an extinct, comparatively species-rich clade of enigmatic birds that possess derived morphological features associated with a perching habitus (Mayr, 2008, 2009, 2015). Zygodactylidae is primarily characterized by a zygodactyl conformation of the pedal phalanges—possessing a retroverted fourth toe and associated accessory trochlea on the distal end of the tarsometatarsus (Olson & Feduccia, 1979). Fossil zygodactylids are most abundant in Eocene deposits of North America and Europe, How to cite this article Smith et al (2018), Systematics and phylogeny of the Zygodactylidae (Aves, Neognathae) with description of a new species from the early Eocene of Wyoming, USA.
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