Phylogeny of the Tertiary Giant Anhingas (Pelecaniformes: Anhingidae) from South America

摘要

Recent findings of paleospecies of large-bodied darters (Pelecaniformes: Anhingidae) have revealed a great diversity of these birds in the Tertiary of South America. However, knowledge about the phylogenetic relationships among them has been rather unclear. An hypothesis of the phylogeny of the Miocene darters Macranhinga paranensis Noriega, 1992, Meganhinga chilensis Alvarenga, 1995, and Anhinga fraileyi Campbell, 1996, based mainly on the morphology of the tarsometa-tarsus, the pelvis, and the inferences about their capacities of flight is presented.