Southern hemisphere tectonics in the Cenozoic shaped the pantropical distribution of parrots and passerines

Abstract Aim Explanations of pantropical distributions are challenging for taxa that diverged during the Cenozoic, after Gondwana broke apart. The ‘boreotropics hypothesis’ suggests that pantropical birds originated in the Laurasian forests. Extant parrots (Psittaciformes) are one the most species‐rich pantropical avian clades, but their known evolutionary history does not fit a boreotropical origin. Most living parrots and the earliest diverging lineages of the Psittaciformes inhabit the remnants of Gondwana, whereas the oldest stem and crown fossils are from the remnants of Laurasia. Our study proposes a biogeographic hypothesis that focuses on the Cenozoic connections between Laurasia and Gondwana to explain extant and fossil geographical distributions. Location Global. Taxon Psittaciformes. Methods We generated a time tree using previously derived data from 32 molecular markers for 312 parrot species and reconstructed their biogeographic history using maximum likelihood. Two scenarios were compared: one with dispersal constrained to adjacent areas, including the connections between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and one without this constraint. Results Our results indicate that the pantropical distribution of parrots was shaped by two major geological events. First, the final breakup of parts of Gondwana may have caused the first splits within crown parrots, establishing two parallel radiations: Psittacidae in the Neotropics and Psittaculidae in Australasia. Second, igneous palaeoprovinces could have connected major biogeographic realms. It seems that Atlantogea and Eurogondwana were important, as they connected South America, Africa and Europe, thus reconciling the Gondwanan crown splits and the early Laurasian fossils. Main Conclusions Our time tree allowed more concise biogeographic correlations between parrots and their sister group, the passerines and Earth's tectonic history. The crown lineages of Psittacopasseres appear to have originated in the Southern Hemisphere remnants of Gondwana, but stem lineages appear to have been able to disperse into the Northern Hemisphere through palaeobiogeographic provinces in the Cenozoic.