We recently published a paper in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution on the origin and taxonomy of the Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi. The paper is available, with free access to anyone, until December 7, via this link. I summarized our findings in a Twitter thread, that I will share here. Photos, where nothing else is stated: Peter G. Ryan.

Inaccessible Island is half-way between Africa & South America, but when physician Percy Lowe described the species in the 1920s, he suggested that its ancestors were also flightless, and that they had colonized Inaccessible by foot on land ridges! #birds #ornithology pic.twitter.com/wbGvZIFgOl

— Martin Stervander (@nesospiza) October 18, 2018

Using #DNA data generated with #NGS, we used a full #mitochondrial assembly and two nuclear genes with data from Garcia-R et al. (2014: https://t.co/o13LrJzYZX) for #phylogenetic analyses. #birds #ornithology pic.twitter.com/0x0XXDQXFR

— Martin Stervander (@nesospiza) October 18, 2018

This #taxonomic mess can be explained by frequent convergent #evolution among rails, combined with traditional taxonomy based on #morphology. To our frustration, #Atlantisia does not have nomenclatural priority, hence we say #FarewellAtlantisia. #birds #ornithology

— Martin Stervander (@nesospiza) October 18, 2018

I did this study at @lunduniversity and IE2, @uoregon, with Peter Ryan of the @Fitztitute, Martim Melo of #CIBIO, and @BengtHanssonLU of @MEEL_Lund, @Biology_LU. Photos © were kindly provided by P Ryan, Alec Earnshaw (C), Chuck Streker (D), @chavecito76 (E) & Francisco Lucero.

— Martin Stervander (@nesospiza) October 18, 2018