Late Quaternary nightjars (Aves: Caprimulgidae) from Western Cuba

Nightjars (Aves: Caprimulgidae) are predominately nocturnal birds that are rare in the fossil record. Based on materials from the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene deposits of El Abrón Cave (Western Cuba), two species of nightjars have been identified: the likely extinct Siphonorhis daiquiri and the modern Chordeiles gundlachii. Materials on Siphonorhis daiquiri contribute notably to our knowledge of the very poorly studied clade of Siphonorhis poorwills, while the latter species is recorded at this locality for the first time. Representatives of the genus Siphonorhis are specialized for terrestrial locomotion; therefore, the presence of S. daiquiri in layers of different ages (Holocene layers II, III and Pleistocene layers IV, V, VII, and VIII) indicates the presence of open landscapes in the vicinity of the locality throughout various epochs of the taphocoenosis formation. In contrast, only remains of Ch. gundlachii have been found in Late Pleistocene layers VI and IX, which may be associated with changes in environmental conditions during these intervals. The presence of S. daiquiri in the Holocene levels of the cave corroborates the hypothesis that this species survived in Cuba into post-Pleistocene time.