Lithornis flapping flight and early ratite dispersal (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Sep 16, 2025, 11:49:12 PM (12 days ago) Sep 16
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Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Klara Widrig, Fabio Alfieri, Pei-Chen Kuo, Helen James and Daniel J. Field (2025)
Quantitative analysis of stem-palaeognath flight capabilities sheds light on ratite dispersal and flight loss
Biology Letters 21(9): 20250320
doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0320
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0320
Lithornithids are an assemblage of Palaeogene fossil birds thought to represent stem-group members of Palaeognathae. Among extant palaeognaths, which include flightless ratites such as ostriches, only tinamous can fly, though only in anaerobic bursts. Despite their limited dispersal capabilities, the phylogenetic interrelationships and geographic distributions of palaeognaths imply that their early relatives were capable of long-distance dispersal, although quantitative skeletal evidence has not been applied to this question. We investigate the flight capabilities and ecology of the Palaeogene lithornithid Lithornis promiscuus using a three-dimensional geometric morphometric dataset spanning the avian crown group. Our models reject the hypothesis that Lithornis would have relied on tinamou-like burst flight, and show that its sternum morphology is consistent with a range of aerobic, flapping flight styles—closely resembling those of many extant birds exhibiting pronounced dispersal capabilities. Our results are consistent with inferences from lithornithid wing shape, supporting the hypothesis that at least some stem palaeognaths were capable of long-distance flight, helping to clarify the origins of the transoceanic distributions of extant flightless ratites.
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Free pdf:
Klara Widrig, Fabio Alfieri, Pei-Chen Kuo, Helen James and Daniel J. Field (2025)
Quantitative analysis of stem-palaeognath flight capabilities sheds light on ratite dispersal and flight loss
Biology Letters 21(9): 20250320
doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0320
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0320
Lithornithids are an assemblage of Palaeogene fossil birds thought to represent stem-group members of Palaeognathae. Among extant palaeognaths, which include flightless ratites such as ostriches, only tinamous can fly, though only in anaerobic bursts. Despite their limited dispersal capabilities, the phylogenetic interrelationships and geographic distributions of palaeognaths imply that their early relatives were capable of long-distance dispersal, although quantitative skeletal evidence has not been applied to this question. We investigate the flight capabilities and ecology of the Palaeogene lithornithid Lithornis promiscuus using a three-dimensional geometric morphometric dataset spanning the avian crown group. Our models reject the hypothesis that Lithornis would have relied on tinamou-like burst flight, and show that its sternum morphology is consistent with a range of aerobic, flapping flight styles—closely resembling those of many extant birds exhibiting pronounced dispersal capabilities. Our results are consistent with inferences from lithornithid wing shape, supporting the hypothesis that at least some stem palaeognaths were capable of long-distance flight, helping to clarify the origins of the transoceanic distributions of extant flightless ratites.
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