. Annals of the South African Museum = Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. Natural history. THE EVOLUTION OF GUINEA-FOWL 121 Agelastes Guttera Acryllium Nutnida. Fig. 47. An hypothetical phylogeny for the Numidinae. Each monophyletic lineage is charac- terized by a suite of derived character states (?), the primitive counterparts of which (?) are found in members of the co-ordinate sister-group. derived character states (hackled collar, long caecum, red eye) which distinguish Acryllium from Numida. SPECIATION ORIGIN AND DERIVATION OF THE NUMIDINAE Several hypotheses have been offered concer
. Annals of the South African Museum = Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. Natural history. THE EVOLUTION OF GUINEA-FOWL 121 Agelastes Guttera Acryllium Nutnida. Fig. 47. An hypothetical phylogeny for the Numidinae. Each monophyletic lineage is charac- terized by a suite of derived character states (?), the primitive counterparts of which (?) are found in members of the co-ordinate sister-group. derived character states (hackled collar, long caecum, red eye) which distinguish Acryllium from Numida. SPECIATION ORIGIN AND DERIVATION OF THE NUMIDINAE Several hypotheses have been offered concerning the origin and evolution of the Numidinae. Ghigi (1936) states that the proto-guinea-fowl originated in Africa, and probably was derived from a francolin ancestor. This hypothesis is based on the fact that guinea-fowl are found only in Africa (Arabian and Malagasy populations being probably the result of introductions by man), and phenotypic similarities between the most primitive guinea-fowl (Agelastes spp.) and Francolinus spp. Cracraft (1973), in support of his hypothesis of a Gondwanaland origin for the Galliformes, suggests a North American origin from New World quails. Olson (1974), suggests a possible Asiatic origin from a pheasant-like bird, based on analysis of a single Eocene fossil femur from Mongolia. This bone is intermediate in shape between femurs of extant pheasants and Agelastes niger. However, it is only about 70 per cent the length of an Agelastes femur, well within the size range of many extant francolins (Mackworth-Praed & Grant 1952, 1962, 1970). There is no compelling evidence favouring any of these three hypotheses. When, and if, sufficient information comes to the fore, it will probably support. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original South African Museum. Cape
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
