Data from: The fossil record and phylogeny of the auklets (Pan-Alcidae, Aethiini)

The auklets Aethia and Ptychoramphus comprise the smallest known Alcidae
(Aves, Charadriiformes) and have a fossil record that extends into the
Miocene. The evolution of auklets is poorly understood because systematic
hypotheses of relationships among extant auklets are largely incongruent,
the morphology of auklet fossils has not been evaluated in detail, and
extinct species of auklets have not been previously included in a
phylogenetic analysis. Previously described auklet fossil remains are
reviewed and two new species of auklet, Aethia barnesi and Aethia storeri,
are described from the Miocene and Pliocene of southern California, USA.
Previously described auklet fossil remains, the two newly described
extinct species of auklet, and extant species of auklets and other alcids
are included in combined phylogenetic analyses of morphological and
molecular sequence data. Based on the results of the phylogenetic
analyses, the taxonomy of fossils referred to Aethiini is revised and the
evolution of the clade is evaluated in a phylogenetic context. The
osteological morphology of extinct auklets appears to be little-changed
from their extant relatives, suggesting that the ecological attributes of
these small wing-propelled divers may also be relatively unchanged since
the Miocene.