Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Evolution

Catastrophe triggers diversification

Subjects

An analysis of more than 2,000 species of bird provides insight into how the animals' diverse beak shapes evolved, and points to a single rare event as a trigger for the rapid initial divergence of avian lineages. See Letter p.344

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The diverse beak shapes of extant birds such as (from left) eagles, flamingos and toucans.

From Left: Getty; Klein & Hubert/Nature Picture Library; Juan Carlos Vindas/NIS/Minden Pictures/Getty

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Rowland, S. M. Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. 203, 225–246 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Baker, V. R. in Lyell: The Past is the Key to the Present (eds Blundell, D. J. & Scott, A. C.) 171–182 (Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ., 1998).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cooney, C. R. et al. Nature 542, 344–347 (2017).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Simpson, G. G. Tempo and Mode in Evolution (Columbia Univ. Press, 1944).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Bhullar, B.-A. S. et al. Evolution 69, 1665–1677 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. MacArthur, R. Theor. Popul. Biol. 1, 1–11 (1970).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Prum, R. O. et al. Nature 526, 569–573 (2015).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Mayr, G. Paleogene Fossil Birds (Springer, 2009).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Mayr, G. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 136, 715–729 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Mallarino, R. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 16222–16227 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Gould, S. J. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History (Hutchinson Radius, 1990).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar.

Related audio

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Evolutionary biology: Speciation undone

Evolution: An avian explosion

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bhullar, BA. Catastrophe triggers diversification. Nature 542, 304–305 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21494

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21494

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing