Editing Rodrigues solitaire (section)

===Evolution===
In 2002, American geneticist [[Beth Shapiro]] and colleagues analysed the DNA of the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire for the first time. Comparison of [[mitochondria]]l [[cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'']] and 12S [[ribosomal RNA|rRNA]] [[DNA sequence|sequences]] isolated from the [[femur]] of a Rodrigues solitaire and the [[tarsus (skeleton)|tarsal]] of a dodo confirmed their close relationship and their placement within the [[Columbidae]]. The genetic evidence was interpreted as showing the Southeast Asian [[Nicobar pigeon]] (''Caloenas nicobarica'') to be their closest living relative, followed by the [[crowned pigeon]]s (''Goura'') of [[New Guinea]], and the superficially dodo-like [[tooth-billed pigeon]] (''Didunculus strigirostris'') from [[Samoa]]. This [[clade]] consists of generally ground-dwelling island endemic pigeons. The following [[cladogram]] shows the closest relationships of the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire within Columbidae, based on Shapiro et al., 2002:<ref name="Shapiroetal2002">{{cite journal |doi= 10.1126/science.295.5560.1683 |last1= Shapiro |first1= B. |last2= Sibthorpe |first2= D. |last3= Rambaut |first3= A. |last4= Austin |first4= J. |last5= Wragg |first5= G. M. |last6= Bininda-Emonds |first6= O. R. P. |last7= Lee |first7= P. L. M. |last8= Cooper |first8= A. |date= 2002 |title= Flight of the Dodo |journal= Science |volume= 295 |issue= 5560 |pages= 1683 |pmid= 11872833  |url= http://pgl.soe.ucsc.edu/dodo_Shapiro02.pdf }} [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5560/1683/DC1 Supplementary information]</ref><ref>{{cite web| work= [[BBC News]]| date= 28 February 2002| title= DNA yields dodo family secrets| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1847431.stm| access-date= 6 December 2006 }}</ref>
[[File:NICOBAR PIGEON (8551073077).jpg|thumb|A [[Nicobar pigeon]], the closest living relative of the Rodrigues solitaire and the [[dodo]] according to [[DNA]] studies]]
{{clade|style=font-size:100%;
|label1=
|1={{clade
   |1=''[[Didunculus strigirostris]]'' (tooth-billed pigeon)
   |2={{clade
      |1=''[[Goura victoria]]'' (Victoria crowned pigeon)
      |2={{clade
         |1={{clade
            |label1=
            |1={{clade
               |1=''[[Caloenas nicobarica]]'' (Nicobar pigeon)
               |2={{clade
                  |1={{extinct}}'''''Pezophaps solitaria''''' ('''Rodrigues solitaire''')
                  |2={{extinct}}''[[Raphus cucullatus]]'' (dodo)
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}
A similar cladogram was published in 2007, inverting the placement of ''Goura'' and ''Didunculus'' and including the [[pheasant pigeon]] (''Otidiphaps nobilis'') and the [[thick-billed ground pigeon]] (''Trugon terrestris'') at the base of the clade.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1080/10635150701549672 |last1= Pereira |first1= S. L. |last2= Johnson |first2= K. P. |last3= Clayton |first3= D. H. |last4= Baker |first4= A. J. |year= 2007 |title= Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences support a Cretaceous origin of Columbiformes and a dispersal-driven radiation in the Paleogene |journal= Systematic Biology |volume= 56 |issue= 4 |pages= 656–672 |pmid= 17661233 |doi-access= free }} {{free access}}</ref> Based on behavioural and morphological evidence, Jolyon C. Parish proposed that the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire should be placed in the [[Gourinae]] subfamily along with the [[Crowned pigeon|''Goura'']] pigeons and others, in agreement with the genetic evidence<ref name="Parish"/> In 2014, DNA of the only known specimen of the recently extinct [[spotted green pigeon]] (''Caloenas maculata'') was analysed, and it was found to be a close relative of the Nicobar pigeon, and thus also the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire.<ref name="Spotted green pigeon">{{cite journal|last1=Heupink|first1=Tim H|last2=van Grouw|first2=Hein|last3=Lambert|first3=David M|title=The mysterious Spotted Green Pigeon and its relation to the Dodo and its kindred|journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology|volume=14|issue=1|year=2014|pages=136|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-14-136|pmid=25027719|pmc=4099497 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2014BMCEE..14..136H }}</ref>

The 2002 study indicated that the ancestors of the Rodrigues solitaire and the dodo diverged around the [[Paleogene]]–[[Neogene]] boundary. The [[Mascarene Islands]] (Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues), are of [[volcano|volcanic]] origin and are less than 10 million years old. Therefore, the ancestors of both birds probably remained capable of flight for a considerable time after the separation of their [[lineage (evolution)|lineage]].<ref>{{cite book| last1= Cheke| first1= A. S.| last2= Hume| first2= J. P.| year= 2008| title= Lost Land of the Dodo: an Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rodrigues| publisher= T. & A. D. Poyser| location= New Haven and London| isbn= 978-0-7136-6544-4| pages= 70–71}}</ref> The Nicobar and spotted green pigeon were placed at the base of a lineage leading to the Raphinae, which indicates the flightless raphines had ancestors that were able to fly, were semi-terrestrial, and inhabited islands. This in turn supports the hypothesis that the ancestors of those birds reached the Mascarene islands by [[island hopping]] from South Asia.<ref name="Spotted green pigeon"/> The lack of [[mammal]]ian [[herbivore]]s competing for resources on these islands allowed the solitaire and the dodo to attain [[island gigantism|very large sizes]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1086/316701 |last= McNab |first= B. K. |year= 1999 |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12779859 |title= On the Comparative Ecological and Evolutionary Significance of Total and Mass-Specific Rates of Metabolism |journal= Physiological and Biochemical Zoology |volume= 72 |issue= 5 |pages= 642–644 |jstor= 10.1086/316701 |pmid= 10521332 |s2cid= 28619917 }}</ref> The dodo lost the ability to fly owing to the lack of mammalian predators on Mauritius.<ref>{{cite book| last= Fuller| first= E.| author-link= Errol Fuller| year= 2001| title= Extinct Birds| publisher= Comstock| edition= revised| location= New York| isbn= 978-0-8014-3954-4| pages= 37–39}}</ref> Another large, flightless pigeon, the [[Viti Levu giant pigeon]] (''Natunaornis gigoura''), was described in 2001 from [[subfossil]] material from [[Fiji]]. It was only slightly smaller than the Rodrigues solitaire and the dodo, and it too is thought to have been related to the crowned pigeons.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1080/03014223.2001.9517673 |last= Worthy |first= T. H. |year= 2001 |title= A giant flightless pigeon gen. Et sp. Nov. And a new species of ''Ducula'' (Aves: Columbidae), from Quaternary deposits in Fiji |journal= Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand |volume= 31 |issue= 4 |pages= 763–794 |bibcode= 2001JRSNZ..31..763W |s2cid= 83708873 }} {{free access}}</ref>