At 05:38 PM 10/30/2003, Syd wrote:
>Now there are two species of lyrebirds (and two only, apart from a fossil)=
,
>clearly closely related. They both use the same intense alarm call - an
>extremely loud, ear-piercing shriek. On rare occasions I have walked arou=
nd
>some obstacle blocking the view and come face to face with a lyrebird.
>Believe me, that shriek gives one a hell of a shock. I can well imagine i=
t
>causing a predator to pause for just that fraction of a second the lyrebir=
d
>needs to escape.
>
>I wonder if Menura tyawanoides (the fossil species) was their plesiomorph=
ic
>ancestor? Bit hard to tell from one petrofied leg bone, what its alarm ca=
ll
>sounded like.
>
>Anyway, the situation seems to fit what Doug and Marty are on about ... or
>am I assuming plesiomorphologicality (what a lovely word!) where none
>exists?
I think you can assume that the alarm call (and alarm calls are often
plesiomorphic, because they serve such a base purpose) is plesiomorphic and=
that some ancestor of these two species also used that call. It is unlikely=
that the same call would arise in two species. Of course we could now
discuss allopatry vs. sympatry...Marty?
Doug
Doug Von Gausig
Clarkdale, Arizona, USA
Moderator
Nature Recordists e-mail group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists
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