Cenozoic Evolution of Eurasian Anatids (Aves: Anatidae s. l.)

Abstract

An analysis of the Eurasian Cenozoic (late Eocene-Neogene) fossil record of anatids (Anatidae s. l.; including Romainvilliinae and Dendrocygninae) is presented. The evolutionary origin of Anatidae s. l. may be associated with the appearance of large shallow waterbodies in Asia during the Late Eocene as a result of the fall in the global sea level and the resulting retreat of the epicontinental seas. Four major temporal stages can be recognized in the evolution of the Cenozoic Eurasian anatids communities, without any traceable continuity between particular stages (at the current stage of knowledge). Some recent anatid genera (e.g., Tadorna) first appear in the paleontological record at the level of the early and middle Miocene (17–15 Ma), but temperate faunas of essentially modern ecological composition became widespread only in the late Miocene (9–6 Ma). The details of transitions between various faunistic stages, as well as the origin of modern communities, remain largely unstudied.

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