Chapter 4. Evolutionary History of Quails and Allies (Coturnicini)

In this chapter, I discuss the Neogene and Early Pleistocene fossil record of Coturnicini and provide a synthesis of the evolutionary history of the group in Eurasia based on paleontological data. I discuss the early stages of the evolution of the group, paying special attention to Tologuica, the well-known early representatives of Coturnicini from Mongolia and Eastern Siberia. The coexistence of the genera Chauvireria and Plioperdix in the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene of Eastern Europe mark a separate well-represented stage in the evolution of the group in Eurasia. Possible distinctive specialization and different adaptations of these taxa are briefly discussed. In Western and Central Europe, coturnicines are represented by the separate genera Palaeocryptonyx and Palaeoperdix, both known starting from the Middle Miocene. The genus Palaeoperdix comprises quail-like forms, whereas the species of Palaeocryptonyx are phylogenetically more distant from Coturnix and relatives. The Late Pliocene species Chauvireria minor and Palaeocryptonyx capeki are considered as the most specialized taxa within these genera (both probably confined to grassy vegetation landscapes), and the Afro-Iberian taxon Marocortyx is considered a transitional form (showing similarities with modern Margaroperdix) between Alectoris-like coturnicines and highly-specialized quails. Africa may have played an important role in the evolution of the group, although some of the diversification of Coturnicini obviously occurred in Asia. The oldest occurrences of modern taxa are discussed, with a special emphasis on the evolution of Coturnix quails, which first occur in Eurasia in the Late Pliocene of Mongolia, but spread across Europe only in the Calabrian of the Early Pleistocene.