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.

A molecular timescale for vertebrate evolution

Nature volume 392, pages 917–920 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

A timescale is necessary for estimating rates of molecular and morphological change in organisms and for interpreting patterns of macroevolution and biogeography1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Traditionally, these times have been obtained from the fossil record, where the earliest representatives of two lineages establish a minimum time of divergence of these lineages10. The clock-like accumulation of sequence differences in some genes provides an alternative method11 by which the mean divergence time can be estimated. Estimates from single genes may have large statistical errors, but multiple genes can be studied to obtain a more reliable estimate of divergence time1,12,13. However, until recently, the number of genes available for estimation of divergence time has been limited. Here we present divergence-time estimates for mammalian orders and major lineages of vertebrates, from an analysis of 658 nuclear genes. The molecular times agree with most early (Palaeozoic) and late (Cenozoic) fossil-based times, but indicate major gaps in the Mesozoic fossil record. At least five lineages of placental mammals arose more than 100 million years ago, and most of the modern orders seem to have diversified before the Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction of the dinosaurs.

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

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

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

Figure 1: Estimation of divergence times.
Figure 2: Histograms (a–i) of distributions of single-gene divergence times for nine multigene time estimates, and graphs (j–l) of the effects of increased stringency of the rate-constancy test (corresponding to areas of 5% (recommended), 10%, 20%, and 50%, of the χ2 rejection curve) for the same divergences.
Figure 3: A molecular timescale for vertebrate evolution.
Figure 4: Comparison of fossil-based and molecular estimates of divergence time in vertebrates.

References

  1. Wilson, A. C., Carlson, S. S. & White, T. J. Biochemical evolution. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 46, 573–639 (1977).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Nei, M. Molecular Evolutionary Genetics (Columbia Univ. Press, New York, 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Novacek, M. J. Mammalian phylogeny: shaking the tree. Nature 356, 121–125 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Martin, R. D. Primate origins: plugging the gaps. Nature 363, 223–234 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Avise, J. C. Molecular Markers, Natural History and Evolution (Chapman & Hall, New York, 1994).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Hallam, A. An Outline of Phanerozoic Biogeography (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1994).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Easteal, S., Collet, C. & Betty, D. The Mammalian Molecular Clock (R. G. Landes, Austin, TX, 1995).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Gerhart, J. & Kirschner, M. Cells, Embryos, and Evolution (Blackwell Scientific, Malden, Massachusetts, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gee, H. Before the Backbone (Chapman & Hall, New York, NY, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Benton, M. J. The Fossil Record 2 (Chapman & Hall, London, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Zuckerkandl, E. On the molecular evolutionary clock. J. Mol. Evol. 26, 34–46 (1987).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Hedges, S. B., Parker, P. H., Sibley, C. G. & Kumar, S. Continental breakup and the ordinal diversification of birds and mammals. Nature 381, 226–229 (1996).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Takezaki, N., Rzhetsky, A. & Nei, M. Phylogenetic test of the molecular clock and linearized tree. Mol. Biol. Evol. 12, 823–833 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Benton, M. J. Vertebrate Paleontology (Chapman & Hall, New York, 1997).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  15. Archibald, J. D. Fossil evidence for a late Cretaceous origin of “hoofed” mammals. Science 272, 1150–1153 (1996).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kielan-Jaworowska, Z. Interrelationships of Mesozoic mammals. Hist. Biol. 6, 185–202 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Cooper, A. & Penny, D. Mass survival of birds across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary: molecular evidence. Science 275, 1109–1113 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kay, R. F., Ross, C. & Williams, B. A. Anthropoid origins. Science 275, 797–804 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ward, S. in Function, Phylogeny, and Fossils (eds Begun, D. R., Ward, C. V. & Rose, M. D.) 269–290 (Plenum, New York, 1997).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  20. Pilbeam, D. Genetic and morphological records of the Hominoidea and hominid origins: a synthesis. Mol. Phyl. Evol. 5, 155–168 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Benefit, B. R. & McCrossin, M. L. Earliest known Old World monkey skull. Nature 388, 368–371 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Jaeger, J.-J., Tong, H. & Denys, C. The age of the Mus-Rattus divergence: paleontological data compared with the molecular clock. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 302, 917–922 (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Parker, P. H. An Improved Estimate of the Mouse-Rat Divergence Time and Rates of Amino Acid Substitution in Mammals and BirdsThesis, Pennsylvania State Univ.((1996).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Carroll, R. L. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution (W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, 1988).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Springer, M. S. et al. Endemic African mammals shake the phylogenetic tree. Nature 388, 61–63 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Duret, L., Mouchiroud, D. & Gouy, M. HOVERGEN: a database of homologous vertebrate genes. Nucleic Acids Res. 22, 2360–2365 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Tajima, F. Simple methods for testing the molecular evolutionary clock hypothesis. Genetics 135, 599–607 (1993).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Kumar, S., Tamura, K. & Nei, M. MEGA: Molecular Evolutionary Genetic Analysis (Pennsylvania State Univ., 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Gheerbrant, E., Sudre, J. & Cappetta, H. APaleocene proboscidean from Morocco. Nature 383, 68–70 (1996).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Benton, M. J. Phylogeny of the major tetrapod groups: morphological data and divergence dates. J. Mol. Evol. 30, 409–424 (1990).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank L. Poling, A. Beausang, and R. Padmanabhan for assistance with sequence data retrieval; A. Beausang for artwork; A. G. Clark, C. A. Hass, I. Jakobsen, M. Nei, C. R. Rao, and A.Walker for comments and discussion; and L. Duret for instructions on use of the HOVERGEN database. This work was supported in part by grants to M. Nei (NIH and NSF) and S.B.H. (NSF).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, 208 Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    Sudhir Kumar & S. Blair Hedges

Authors
  1. Sudhir Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. Blair Hedges
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Blair Hedges.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kumar, S., Hedges, S. A molecular timescale for vertebrate evolution. Nature 392, 917–920 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/31927

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/31927

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced 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