Evidence for a recent origin of penguins

Sankar Subramanian; G Beans-Picón; S K Swaminathan; C D Millar; D M Lambert

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0748

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Evidence for a recent origin of penguins

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Evidence for a recent origin of penguins

Sankar Subramanian, G Beans-Picón, S K Swaminathan, C D Millar and D M Lambert

Biology Letters, Vol.9(6)

2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0748

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Abstract

penguin evolution

climate change

rate of evolution

Penguins are a remarkable group of birds, with the 18 extant species living in diverse climatic zones from the tropics to Antarctica. The timing of the origin of these extant penguins remains controversial. Previous studies based on DNA sequences and fossil records have suggested widely differing times for the origin of the group. This has given rise to widely differing biogeographic narratives about their evolution. To resolve this problem, we sequenced five introns from 11 species representing all genera of living penguins. Using these data and other available DNA sequences, together with the ages of multiple penguin fossils to calibrate the molecular clock, we estimated the age of the most recent common ancestor of extant penguins to be 20.4 Myr (17.0-23.8 Myr). This time is half of the previous estimates based on molecular sequence data. Our results suggest that most of the major groups of extant penguins diverged 11-16 Ma. This overlaps with the sharp decline in Antarctic temperatures that began approximately 12 Ma, suggesting a possible relationship between climate change and penguin evolution. © 2013 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society.

Details

Title: Evidence for a recent origin of penguins
Authors: Sankar Subramanian (Author) - Griffith University
G Beans-Picón (Author) - Massey University, New Zealand
S K Swaminathan (Author) - Environment Protection Training and Research Institute, India
C D Millar (Author) - University of Auckland, New Zealand
D M Lambert (Author) - Griffith University
Publication details: Biology Letters, Vol.9(6); 4
Publisher: Royal Society Publishing
Date published: 2013
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0748
ISSN: 1744-9561
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450471402621
Output Type: Journal article

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