Gallinuloides enters the LRT with crowned cranes, not with megapodes

Complete fossils of the plover-sized crane
Gallinuloides wyomingensis (Eastman 1900; Early Eocene, Green River Formation, 48 mya) were described by Mayr and Weidig 2004 as stem-group galliforms (= chickens, pheasants and kin). Like traditional bird workers, Mayr and Weidig also considered megapodes to be crown group Galliformes.

Mayr and Weidig reported,
“the Early Eocene Gallinuloides wyomingensis Eastman, 1900 is the earliest known unquestionable galliform bird. To date, the taxon was known only from the holotype, a poorly preserved articulated specimen from the Green River Formation in Wyoming, USA.”

Mayr and Weidig reported,
“There is a growing consensus, from both molecular and morphological studies, that the Galliformes are the sister taxon of the Anseriformes (waterfowl).”

This hypothesis of interrelationships is not supported by the LRT. Geese do not look like nor share a niche with chickens. Even so, this is widely supported by bird workers.

References
Mayr G. and Weidig I 2004. The Early Eocene bird Gallinuloides wyomingensis—a stem group representative of Galliformes. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 49 (2): 211–217.

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https://a-dinosaur-a-day.com/post/179778390540/gallinuloides