[Taxacom] Poor flying hoatzins dispersed (on flotsam) from Africato S. America?

[Robin Leech]

John, 
Mind your manners.  Non-migrating birds do not have the ability to fly much
more than
about 600 km before coming down.  Same with flying insects (those caught up
in winds and 
carried to the jet streams - they are another matter!). That is, those
insects that are 
using wing power to fly have a 400 mile, or 600 km,limit. Take your choice.
Spiders, on the other hand, balloon, and can arrive, after travelling
several thousands of km, 
fresh as a daisy, as they have not had to expend energy along the way.
Robin

-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
[mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of John Grehan
Sent: October-09-11 10:06 PM
To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Poor flying hoatzins dispersed (on flotsam) from
Africato S. America?

Good grief. No wonder geologists don't take biogeographers seriously.
According to the press release the authors say that "We assume that the
bird crossed the Atlantic upon drifting flotsam.". In other words its
all an assumption, a fantasy. Creationists are obviously not the only
purveyors of fantasy - some evolutionists are also deep in the same camp
in this respect.

John Grehan

-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
[mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Kenneth Kinman
Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2011 10:29 PM
To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: [Taxacom] Poor flying hoatzins dispersed (on flotsam) from
Africato S. America?

Dear All,
      A very recently published article provides a probable example of a
major taxon (Order Opisthocomiformes) establishing itself in South
America having drifted on flotsam from Africa during the Cenozoic.
Unlike other such cases, this involves a bird (and a poorly flying one,
and with a life style which makes it a perfect candidate among birds to
have made such a trip).    
     At first, I was frankly a bit skeptical, as this dispersal would
have taken place tens of millions of years ago, and thus not quite the
"slam-dunk" example of a Nile crocodile making the same dispersal trip
much later in time.  There is also the problem that the closest
relatives of the hoatzin are still very uncertain.   
     However, in spite of my initial wariness, I believe it more likely
that the hoatzin family (presently classified in a monotypic Order) most
likely did (as the this paper suggested) originate in Africa and
introduce itself into South America by flotsam dispersal across the
Atlantic Ocean (and then subsequently went extinct in Namibia, or any
other parts of Africa in which it may have originally lived).  If there
is another equally likely (or more likely) explanation for this new
information on hoatzin origins, I would certainly find it interesting
(given my initial skepticism about such an unexpected hypothesis).
However, at present I am inclined to see it as yet another case of
unexpected dispersal (not vicariance).  Anyway, see one discussion of
this recent paper through the weblink below.        
              -----------Ken Kinman    

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004175929.htm  



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