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MACROEVOLUTION

Biota turnovers from phylogenies

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, pages 1796–1797 (2017)Cite this article

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Phylogenetic data infer temporal clustering of immigration and re-diversification of Australian lizards and snakes, suggesting that climatic and geological changes may have precipitated re-assemblies of this vertebrate group.

Understanding the mechanistic controls of biodiversity in deep time is difficult, but synchronized and profound changes, such as mass extinction events, are typically interpreted as evidence for the role of abiotic factors. Writing in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Oliver and Hugall1 report on a molecular phylogenetic approach to suggest that climatic and geological changes in the mid-Cenozoic era might have contributed to re-assembling the diversity of lizards and snakes (squamates) on the Australian continent. The authors find evidence for this biotic restructuring in the timing of two important processes: the immigration of new lineages and the re-diversification of old endemic ones. According to Oliver and Hugall, the temporal clustering of those events was precipitated by mid-Cenozoic plate tectonic movements and the cooling and drying event at the Ecocene–Oligocene transition2.

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Fig. 1: Immigration and re-diversification of Australian squamate lineages are more temporally clustered than expected by chance.

References

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  1. Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05422–970, Brazil

    Tiago B. Quental

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  1. Tiago B. Quental
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Correspondence to Tiago B. Quental.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Quental, T.B. Biota turnovers from phylogenies. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 1796–1797 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0363-8

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