Convergent evolution: raising a family from the dead.
New molecular evidence shows that Hawaiian honeyeaters did not evolve from the similar looking Australasian honeyeaters, but instead represent a striking case of convergent evolution. These now extinct birds form their own family, representing the only complete extinction of an entire avian family in modern times.
Lovette
Irby J
IJ
Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. IJL2@cornell.edu
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004032:Diet; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006254:Hawaii; D006722:Honey; D010802:Phylogeny; D020308:Songbirds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
D004247:DNA