The origin of penguins in the LRT
(subset Fig 3) was established and updated several years ago. Presently the complete LRT documents a comprehensive lineage of penguin ancestors back to pre-Cambrian worms.
Today
we’ll review the present taxonomic situation close to penguins. A few graphics (Figs 2, 3 should remove any last bits of mystery. After seeing this evidence you may wonder why this low-hanging fruit is not more widely known and understood. Apparently few workers want take the deep dive into penguines. If you doubt the present evidence (Figs 2,3), run your own analysis and let us know your results.
Bonaparte 1831
placed penguins into the family Spheniscidae. Sharpe 1891 placed penguins into the order Sphenisciformes.
Neither of these classifications shed much light on penguin origins from other birds.
According to Wikipedia,
“The oldest known fossil penguin species is Waimanu manneringi, which lived in the early Paleocene epoch of New Zealand, or about 62 mya.”
The Wiki authors chose not to consider the origin of penguins from other birds.
Gene studes by Prum et al. 2015
(Fig 1) nested penguins between loons (Gavia) and the North Pacific albatross (Phoebastria).
Neither of these genomic recoveries are correct according to the trait-based LRT (Fig 3). Nor do they reveal the origin of underwater flying in penguins. For instance, loons paddle with their feet underwater while keeping their wings tucked in. The albatross is a specialist in soaring, which is rather distinct from penguin locomotion.
Now do you understand why ‘deep time studies in genomics are no better than alchemy’?
From Penguins-World.com
“In general, three groups of birds share many similarities with the modern penguins, suggesting that these groups could have some ancestor in common. These groups are:
A) Petrels and Albatrosses.
B) Loons.
C) Frigatebirds.”
None of these guesses are correct according to the LRT (subset Fig 3).
According to
the large reptile tree (LRT, 2085 taxa, subset Fig 2) underwater flying penguins like Aptenodytes and Spheniscus are derived from underwater + above water flying guillemots (= murres) like Uria (Figs 2, 3). These, in turn, evolved from flying and only shallow diving terns like Thalasseus.
The LRT continues to offer
the only trait-based study of birds and chordates. The LRT nests some guillemots with penguins. Other guillemots, nearly identical by convergence (Fig 3), give rise to extinct flightless auks (Pinguinus) and razorbills (Alca) with similar short wings which flap rapidly in the air and underwater. As we learned earlier here, the razorbill-related thick-billed murres/guillemots were named first, so the penguin-related, thin-billed murres/guillemots need a new generic name. And probably a new popular name, too.
I realize this is confusing. Convergence always is, especially when it goes unrecognized.
It is a credit to the LRT that traits never designed to separate some Uria species from other so-called ‘Uria‘ species were able to separate one from another with complete resolution (Fig 3). This is why I encourage everyone to build their own LRT for the authority that will give them. Perhaps then we can avoid the myth-making of genomic studies like Prum et al. 2015 (Fig 1) and the vague guesses of others.
Still not convinced?
If you have a better solution that explains and documents the origin of penguins, work it up and let us know.
References
Bonaparte CL 1831. Giornale Arcadico di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti 49: 62.
Prum et al. (6 co-authors) 2015. A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing. Nature 526:569–573. online
Sharpe RB 1891. A Review of Recent Attempts to Classify Birds: an address delivered before the Second International Ornithological Congress on the 18th of May, 1891. Budapest: Office of the Congress.
wiki/Penguin
Publicity
npr.org/the-evolutionary-history-of-penguins-is-far-from-black-and-white
The Pterosaur Heresies 