Herpetological phylogeographic analyses support a Miocene focal point of Himalayan uplift and biological diversification

Abstract

The Himalaya are among the youngest and highest mountains in the world, but the exact timing of their uplift and origins of their biodiversity are still in debate. The Himalayan region is a relatively small area but with exceptional diversity and endemism. One common hypothesis to explain the rich montane diversity is uplift-driven diversification–that orogeny creates conditions favoring rapid in situ speciation of resident lineages. We test this hypothesis in the Himalayan region using amphibians and reptiles, two environmental sensitive vertebrate groups. In addition, analysis of diversification of the herpetofauna provides an independent source of information to test competing geological hypotheses of Himalayan orogenesis. We conclude that the origins of the Himalayan herpetofauna date to the early Paleocene, but that diversification of most groups was concentrated in the Miocene. There was an increase in both rates and modes of diversification during the early to middle Miocene, together with regional interchange (dispersal) between the Himalaya and adjacent regions. Our analyses support a recently proposed stepwise geological model of Himalayan uplift beginning in the Paleocene, with a subsequent rapid increase of uplifting during the Miocene, finally give rise to the intensification of the modern South Asia Monsoon.

Between sand, rocks and branches: an integrative taxonomic revision of Angolan Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820, with description of four new species

“…Time-tree analysis shows that most Angolan Hemidactylus lineages have diversified during the Miocene, coinciding with a progressively cooling climate and increased climatic seasonality in southern Africa, leading to the expansion of moist savannas and increased ecological heterogeneity (Herbert et al 2016), which has been associated with speciation across different taxonomical groups, including reptiles (Gamble et al 2008;Agarwal and Karanth 2015;Zimkus et al 2017;Werneck et al 2018;Xu et al 2020). The currently recognized Angolan Hemidactylus (with the exception of H. mabouia which is a widespread species across Africa and the Americas) could be traced to seven recognized lineages at the end of the Miocene.…”

Evolutionary origin of species diversity on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

“…The Himalayas experienced upheaval for another 3000 m in the Pleistocene around 3–2.5 and 0.98 Ma due to renewed and considerable tectonic activity (Spicer et al, 2003; Spicer, 2017; Manish & Pandit, 2018). This stepwise uplift model for the Himalayas with the initial start from the Paleocene but with further extensive uplifting until the Miocene was also parallel to the animal diversification in this region (Xu et al, 2021). However, some authors suggested that the Himalayas, shared the same block and upheavals with the plateau platform during several major periods (Harrison et al, 1992; Molnar et al, 1993; Manish & Pandit, 2018).…”

“…The accelerated diversification and colonization of these alpine lineages since the middle Oligocene were likely driven jointly by orogeny (mountain uplift) events and monsoon intensification. Similarly, Xu et al (2021) dated the origins of the Himalayan herpetofauna (using phylogenies of multiple groups) back to the early Paleocene although the rapid diversification of most lineages occurred in the Miocene.…”

“…Because the heterogeneous uplifts of the QTP sl continued from the Eocene to the Quaternary, it is highly likely to suggest a correlation between QTP sl uplift and species diversification timescale through a “cherry‐picking” way. Therefore, such a caveat could not be totally excluded in the case study of a single group, although statistical analyses of multiple groups may improve such correlational studies (Ding et al, 2020; Xu et al, 2021).…”

Insights into the drivers of radiating diversification in biodiversity hotspots usingSaussurea(Asteraceae) as a case

“…Recent large-scale studies of species diversification on the QTP have provided convincing evidence for a Miocene diversification in plant lineages (Ding et al ., 2020) as well as amphibians and reptiles (Xu et al ., 2020). A hypothesis for the rich biodiversity found in mountainous regions like the QTP is uplift-driven diversification—that orogenic activities create diverse habitats favoring rapid in situ speciation of resident lineages (Xing & Ree, 2017; Chen et al ., 2019).…”