Fossils and a Large Molecular Phylogeny Show That the Evolution of Species Richness, Generic Diversity, and Turnover Rates Are Disconnected

Xing, Yao‐Wu; Onstein, Renske E.; Carter, Richard J.; Stadler, Tanja; Linder, H. Peter

doi:10.1111/evo.12489

Cited by 76 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Insect diversity was higher at the Eocene paleotropical site than the modern temperate locality, and comparable to the modern-day tropical locality, suggesting that post-Eocene insects have thus suffered greater levels of extinction in the Nearctic regions than around the equator. This pattern is consistent with other studies on various taxonomic groups, including birds 53 , invertebrates 15,16,54 , mammals 12,13,55 and plants [56][57][58] . However, fossil studies are generally restricted to a geographic and temporal scale, which makes difficult to extrapolate local inferences of extinction in the context of the LDG.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Ancient tropical extinctions contributed to the latitudinal diversity gradient

Meseguer

Condamine

2017

Preprint

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Biodiversity currently peaks at the equator, decreasing toward the poles. Growing fossil evidence suggest that this hump-shaped latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) has not been persistent through time, with similar species diversity across latitudes flattening out the LDG during past greenhouse periods. This provides a new starting point for LDG research. Most studies assume the processes shaping the LDG have acted constantly through time and seek to understand why diversity accumulated in the Holarctic at lower levels than at the equator, e.g. as the result of limited dispersal, or higher turnover in Holarctic regions. However, fossil investigations suggest that we need to explain when and why diversity was lost at high latitudes to generate the LDG. Unfortunately, diversity lost scenarios in the Holarctic have been repeatedly proposed but not yet clearly demonstrated. Here, we use diversification approaches for both phylogenies and fossils to study the LDG of Testudines, Crocodilia and Lepidosauria. We show the LDG of these groups has varied over time, with high latitudes serving as a source of tropical diversity but suffering disproportionate extinction during transitional periods to cold climate. We outline the ‘asymmetric gradient of extinction and dispersal’ (AGED) framework, which contextualizes previous ideas behind the LDG under a time-variable scenario. We suggest the current steep LDG may be explained by the extinction of clades adapted to warmer conditions from the new temperate regions formed in the Neogene, together with the equator-ward dispersal of organisms tracking their own climatic preferences, when tropical biomes became restricted to the equator. Conversely, high rates of speciation and pole-ward dispersals can account for the formation of an ancient flat LDG during the Cretaceous–Paleogene greenhouse period. Our results demonstrate that the inclusion of fossils in macroevolutionary studies allows detecting extinction events less detectable in analyses restricted to present-day data only.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Ancient tropical extinctions contributed to the latitudinal diversity gradient

Meseguer

Condamine

2017

Preprint

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“…It differs from segmented Nilssonia leaves [55] by the lateral attachment of the leaflets and the anatomy of the cuticle and from Encephalartites by the leaf base that is contracted only on the acroscopic side, and by the oblong leaflets. Eobowenia incrassata is distinguished from any segmented bennettitalean leaf by the haplocheilic architecture of the stomata in contrast to the syndetocheilic architecture characterising bennettitalean leaves [19, 14]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some authors have interpreted these recent speciation events as a radiation triggered by increased aridification [17] or as the rebound after a mass extinction caused by the inception of an icehouse earth [16]. The resolution of this conundrum is hindered by our insufficient understanding of the relationships between fossil and extant diversity in cycads, which would allow us to independently test the trajectories of diversity through time [19], to validate the dates retrieved by the molecular analyses [20], and to fully understand the impact of climatic changes and tectonic events on the diversity of the group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eobowenia gen. nov. from the Early Cretaceous of Patagonia: indication for an early divergence of Bowenia?

Coiro

Pott

2017

BMC Evol Biol

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BackgroundEven if they are considered the quintessential “living fossils”, the fossil record of the extant genera of the Cycadales is quite poor, and only extends as far back as the Cenozoic. This lack of data represents a huge hindrance for the reconstruction of the recent history of this important group. Among extant genera, Bowenia (or cuticles resembling those of extant Bowenia) has been recorded in sediments from the Late Cretaceous and the Eocene of Australia, but its phylogenetic placement and the inference from molecular dating still imply a long ghost lineage for this genus.ResultsWe re-examine the fossil foliage Almargemia incrassata from the Lower Cretaceous Anfiteatro de Ticó Formation in Patagonia, Argentina, in the light of a comparative cuticular analysis of extant Zamiaceae. We identify important differences with the other member of the genus, viz. A. dentata, and bring to light some interesting characters shared exclusively between A. incrassata and extant Bowenia. We interpret our results to necessitate the erection of the new genus Eobowenia to accommodate the fossil leaf earlier assigned as Almargemia incrassata. We then perfom phylogenetic analyses, including the first combined morphological and molecular analysis of the Cycadales, that indicate that the newly erected genus could be related to extant Bowenia.Conclusion Eobowenia incrassata could represent an important clue for the understanding of evolution and biogeography of the extant genus Bowenia, as the presence of Eobowenia in Patagonia is yet another piece of the biogeographic puzzle that links southern South America with Australasia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0943-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…For instance, Niklas and colleagues (Niklas et al 1983;Niklas 1988;Niklas and Tiffney 1994) reconstructed the past diversity of the plants since the Upper Silurian using 29 geologic time intervals with significantly Lloyd and Friedman 2013;Xing et al 2014). Therefore, we recommend that equal-length time intervals should be used in diversity estimation or some corrections used to minimize any such sampling bias.…”

Section: Timescale Biasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the Biases in the Rich Cenozoic Angiosperm Macrofossil Record

Xing

Gandolfo

Onstein

et al. 2016

International Journal of Plant Sciences

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Premise of research: The Cenozoic fossil record is crucial for understanding the evolution of the remarkably high diversity of angiosperms. However, the quality and biases of the angiosperm fossil record remain unclear mainly due to the lack of a global database. Methodology: We introduce a new global occurrence-based database for Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossils, the Cenozoic Angiosperm Database. We test the temporal, spatial, and phylogenetic biases of the Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossil record and explore their causes. Pivotal results: The data presented here include 2478 assemblages from all Cenozoic epochs and 1961 sites from all continents, as well as representatives of 221 families (of 445 recognized) and 1859 genera, and show that the Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossil record is extraordinarily rich. However, this rich record is temporally, spatially, and phylogenetically biased: the Miocene is much better sampled than the rest of Cenozoic, the Northern Hemisphere is better sampled than the Southern Hemisphere, and the rosids are better sampled than the rest of the angiosperms. The sampling bias might be caused by collecting effort, geological history, or diverse features of the families, such as growth form and distribution. Conclusions: The Cenozoic macrofossil record of angiosperms is remarkably rich, especially of woody families found in the Northern Hemisphere. Even if there are numerous biases in these data, a judicious use of the database should be highly informative. Editor: Maria von BalthazarPremise of research. The Cenozoic fossil record is crucial for understanding the evolution of the remarkably high diversity of angiosperms. However, the quality and biases of the angiosperm fossil record remain unclear mainly due to the lack of a global database.Methodology. We introduce a new global occurrence-based database for Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossils, the Cenozoic Angiosperm Database. We test the temporal, spatial, and phylogenetic biases of the Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossil record and explore their causes.Pivotal results. The data presented here include 2478 assemblages from all Cenozoic epochs and 1961 sites from all continents, as well as representatives of 221 families (of 445 recognized) and 1859 genera, and show that the Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossil record is extraordinarily rich. However, this rich record is temporally, spatially, and phylogenetically biased: the Miocene is much better sampled than the rest of Cenozoic, the Northern Hemisphere is better sampled than the Southern Hemisphere, and the rosids are better sampled than the rest of the angiosperms. The sampling bias might be caused by collecting effort, geological history, or diverse features of the families, such as growth form and distribution.Conclusions. The Cenozoic macrofossil record of angiosperms is remarkably rich, especially of woody families found in the Northern Hemisphere. Even if there are numerous biases in these data, a judicious use of the database should be highly informative.

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Fossils and a Large Molecular Phylogeny Show That the Evolution of Species Richness, Generic Diversity, and Turnover Rates Are Disconnected

Cited by 76 publications

References 70 publications

Ancient tropical extinctions contributed to the latitudinal diversity gradient

Ancient tropical extinctions contributed to the latitudinal diversity gradient

Eobowenia gen. nov. from the Early Cretaceous of Patagonia: indication for an early divergence of Bowenia?

Testing the Biases in the Rich Cenozoic Angiosperm Macrofossil Record

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