Vocal specialization through tracheal elongation in an extinct Miocene pheasant from China.
Sci Rep
; 8(1): 8099, 2018 05 25.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29802379
ABSTRACT
Modifications to the upper vocal tract involving hyper-elongated tracheae have evolved many times within crown birds, and their evolution has been linked to a 'size exaggeration' hypothesis in acoustic signaling and communication, whereby smaller-sized birds can produce louder sounds. A fossil skeleton of a new extinct species of wildfowl (Galliformes Phasianidae) from the late Miocene of China, preserves an elongated, coiled trachea that represents the oldest fossil record of this vocal modification in birds and the first documentation of its evolution within pheasants. The phylogenetic position of this species within Phasianidae has not been fully resolved, but appears to document a separate independent origination of this vocal modification within Galliformes. The fossil preserves a coiled section of the trachea and other remains supporting a tracheal length longer than the bird's body. This extinct species likely produced vocalizations with a lower fundamental frequency and reduced harmonics compared to similarly-sized pheasants. The independent evolution of this vocal feature in galliforms living in both open and closed habitats does not appear to be correlated with other factors of biology or its open savanna-like habitat. Features present in the fossil that are typically associated with sexual dimorphism suggest that sexual selection may have resulted in the evolution of both the morphology and vocalization mechanism in this extinct species.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Traqueia
/
Vocalização Animal
/
Galliformes
/
Extinção Biológica
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China