Time asymmetry in the palaeobiogeographic history of species

Abstract The difficulties and hindrances of palaeobiogeography and historical biogeography in its long, sterile search for centres of origin or ancestral areas of species, leading some authors to withdraw the centre-of-origin as a non-scientific concept, are here considered as signals and not artefacts for the recognition of patterns in the biogeographic history of lineages. The time-symmetric model, which assumes gradual origination and extinction processes of a species, is here questioned and an alternative time-asymmetric model is proposed. The origination and expansion processes of a species history would be much faster and more unpredictable than the often gradual, long, predictable extinction process marked by previous signals of geographic area contraction. Monitored biological invasions, plankton blooms and episodes of coordinated migrations illustrate the fast expansion of novel species behaving as dissipative structures. The asymmetric biogeographic model is tested through palaeobiogeographic data on Old World mammal species and by the consistent preference of biostratigraphers for species appearance against species extinction as time-marker bioevents. Time-asymmetry is a common phenomenon of nature, indicating that asymmetry could well be a general property of Time itself.

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An overview of the mammals of the Gila region, New Mexico

Therya ◽

10.12933/therya-21-1123 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 213-236

Author(s):

Amanda K. Jones ◽

Schuyler W. Liphardt ◽

Jonathan L. Dunnum

Keyword(s):

New Mexico ◽

Great Basin ◽

The United States ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Sky Islands ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Landscape Complexity ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

Mitochondrial Cytochrome B ◽

History Of

A study of the mammals of the Gila region of New Mexico was conducted from 2012 through 2020, with 2,919 voucher specimens collected through fieldwork and collaborations with commercial trappers, in addition to data from camera traps, review of major holdings at 46 museums (n = 12,505 georeferenced specimens), and literature review. Specimens cover a 170-year span, dating back to 1850 and were unevenly distributed spatially and temporally across the Gila region. Most areas were very poorly represented and when summed across all mammal species, ranged from 0.02 to 3.7 specimens per km2. The survey documented 108 species (104 now extant) for the region. High species richness, greater than that reported for 38 states in the United States, is likely due to the juxtaposition of multiple biomes in the Gila, including the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin deserts, the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Madre Occidental, and nearby “sky islands’’ of the Southwest. Two species, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae and Zapus luteus, are documented for the first time from the study area. Expansions of the known range of these species, and Sciurus arizonensis are described from specimen and camera data. Preliminary phylogeographic studies of four species (Notiosorex crawfordi, Neotoma albigula, Perognathus flavus, and Thomomys bottae) using the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene reveal the dynamic biogeographic history of the region and reinforce how landscape complexity and climate change have jointly contributed to diversification and thus high mammalian diversity in the region.

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A comprehensive overview of the genetic diversity in Thylamys elegans (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae): establishing the phylogeographic determinants

Revista chilena de historia natural ◽

10.1186/s40693-021-00103-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 94 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dusan Boric-Bargetto ◽

Álvaro Zúñiga-Reinoso ◽

Oscar Inostroza-Michel ◽

Enrique Rodríguez-Serrano ◽

Daniel González-Acuña ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Mitochondrial Gene ◽

Geographic Area ◽

Water Levels ◽

Limiting Current ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Mountain Glaciers ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

History Of ◽

The Mediterranean

Abstract Background For the genus Thylamys, the rivers have been reported as barriers to dispersal, limiting current and historical distribution of its lineages. We hypothesized that the Maipo river has affected the genetic structure of northern and southern lineages of Thylamys elegans, recovering a phylogenetic relationships with reciprocally monophyletic sister groups on opposite river banks. We evaluated the role of other rivers in the Mediterranean zone of Chile as historical and recent modulators of the biogeographic processes of this species. Methods We applied a phylogeographic approach, using the cytochrome-b mitochondrial gene for 93 individuals of T. elegans, from 37 localities in a latitudinal gradient between 21°25’ and 35˚56’S, encompassing a geographic area between the Atacama Desert and most of the Mediterranean Chilean zone. Results The phylogenetics results recovered six lineages within T. elegans: Thylamys elegans elegans, Thylamys elegans coquimbensis, the Loa lineage and three other lineages not described previously (Aconcagua, South 1 and South 2). We suggest that following rivers play a role like primary barrier: the Maipo river in the genetic differentiation of northern and southern ancestral lineages, and the Mataquito river and its tributary Teno river for the South 1 and South 2 lineages. On the other hand, the Quilimarí river preserve the genetic divergence in T. e. coquimbensis and Aconcagua lineage and the Aconcagua river in Aconcagua lineage and T. e. elegans acting like secondary barriers. Conclusions We concluded that the genetic diversity and biogeographic history of T. elegans was shaped by mountain glaciers, changes in river water levels during the Pleistocene glaciations and hyperaridity, promoting the differentiation and persistance of the T. elegans lineages.

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Amazonia as the Origin and Diversification Area of Didelphidae (Mammalia: Metatheria), and a Review of the Fossil Record of the Clade

Journal of Mammalian Evolution ◽

10.1007/s10914-021-09548-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mariela C. Castro ◽

Murilo J. Dahur ◽

Gabriel S. Ferreira

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Parametric Models ◽

Isthmus Of Panama ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

Early Diversification ◽

Northern Portion ◽

History Of ◽

Environmental Events ◽

Fossil Records

AbstractDidelphidae is the largest New World radiation of marsupials, and is mostly represented by arboreal, small- to medium-sized taxa that inhabit tropical and/or subtropical forests. The group originated and remained isolated in South America for millions of years, until the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. In this study, we present the first reconstruction of the biogeographic history of Didelphidae including all major clades, based on parametric models and stratified analyses over time. We also compiled all the pre-Quaternary fossil records of the group, and contrasted these data to our biogeographic inferences, as well as to major environmental events that occurred in the South American Cenozoic. Our results indicate the relevance of Amazonia in the early diversification of Didelphidae, including the divergence of the major clades traditionally ranked as subfamilies and tribes. Cladogeneses in other areas started in the late Miocene, an interval of intense shifts, especially in the northern portion of Andes and Amazon Basin. Occupation of other areas continued through the Pliocene, but few were only colonized in Quaternary times. The comparison between the biogeographic inference and the fossil records highlights some further steps towards better understanding the spatiotemporal evolution of the clade. Finally, our results stress that the early history of didelphids is obscured by the lack of Paleogene fossils, which are still to be unearthed from low-latitude deposits of South America.

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First North African record of a melanistic common genet (Genetta genetta Linnaeus, 1758)

Mammalia ◽

10.1515/mammalia-2020-0154 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Mourad Ahmim ◽

Hafid Aroudj ◽

Farouk Aroudj ◽

Saaid Saidi ◽

Samir Aroudj

Keyword(s):

North Africa ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

North African ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Genetta Genetta ◽

History Of ◽

The Common ◽

True Occurrence

Abstract The common genet (Genetta genetta Linnaeus, 1758) is a rare and protected mammal species in Algeria. We report the first melanistic individual of this species ever recorded in North Africa. Such animals have only been recorded in Spain and Portugal so far. It is unclear why melanistic common genets seem to be so rare in its African range. More research is needed to determine the true occurrence of melanistic individuals, and what the evolutionary history of melanism is in common genets.

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Evolution and biogeographic history of the Saguinus mystax group (Primates, Callithrichidae)

American Journal of Primatology ◽

10.1002/ajp.23226 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 83 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Daysa Athaydes ◽

Cayo A. R. Dias ◽

Renato Gregorin ◽

Fernando A. Perini

Keyword(s):

Saguinus Mystax ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

History Of

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Mitochondrial introgression and complex biogeographic history of the genus Picea

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.ympev.2015.07.020 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 93 ◽

pp. 63-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Jin-Hua Ran ◽

Ting-Ting Shen ◽

Wen-Juan Liu ◽

Pei-Pei Wang ◽

Xiao-Quan Wang

Keyword(s):

Biogeographic History ◽

Mitochondrial Introgression ◽

History Of

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Systematic placement of an enigmatic Southeast Asian taxon Eupetes macrocerus and implications for the biogeography of a main songbird radiation, the Passerida

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2007.0054 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 323-326 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Knud A Jønsson ◽

Jon Fjeldså ◽

Per G.P Ericson ◽

Martin Irestedt

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Plate Tectonics ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Sister Taxon ◽

Long Distance ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

Basal Group ◽

History Of ◽

Biogeographic Regions ◽

Wallace’S Line

Biogeographic connections between Australia and other continents are still poorly understood although the plate tectonics of the Indo-Pacific region is now well described. Eupetes macrocerus is an enigmatic taxon distributed in a small area on the Malay Peninsula and on Sumatra and Borneo. It has generally been associated with Ptilorrhoa in New Guinea on the other side of Wallace's Line, but a relationship with the West African Picathartes has also been suggested. Using three nuclear markers, we demonstrate that Eupetes is the sister taxon of the South African genus Chaetops , and their sister taxon in turn being Picathartes , with a divergence in the Eocene. Thus, this clade is distributed in remote corners of Africa and Asia, which makes the biogeographic history of these birds very intriguing. The most parsimonious explanation would be that they represent a relictual basal group in the Passerida clade established after a long-distance dispersal from the Australo-Papuan region to Africa. Many earlier taxonomic arrangements may have been based on assumptions about relationships with similar-looking forms in the same, or adjacent, biogeographic regions, and revisions with molecular data may uncover such cases of neglect of ancient relictual patterns reflecting past connections between the continents.

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Chromosomal Evolution in Psittaciformes. Revisited

International Journal of Biology ◽

10.5539/ijb.v8n4p34 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 34

Author(s):

A. Villa Rus ◽

J. C. Cigudosa ◽

J. L. Carrasco Juan ◽

A. Otero Gomez ◽

T. Acosta Almeida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chromosome Rearrangement ◽

Vocal Learning ◽

Chromosomal Evolution ◽

Learning Abilities ◽

Biogeographic History ◽

Human Attention ◽

Evolutionary Radiation ◽

History Of ◽

Parrot Species ◽

Evolutionary Comparisons

With colourful plumage, charismatic character and vocal learning abilities, parrots are one of the most striking and recognizable bird groups. Their attractiveness has drawn human attention for centuries, and members of the Psittaciformes order were, also, among the first avian species to be subject to cytogenetic studies which have contributed to understand their taxonomic and evolutionary relationships.We present here the karyological results collected by the study of thirteen parrot species new to karyology. These results are additionally supported by G banded preparations obtained in five species.The order Psittaciformes is an interesting example of a, typically, non migratory avian lineage with Gondwanaland origin, whose evolutionary radiation has been shaped by the Cenozoic geographic and climatic events that affected the land masses derived from the Gondwanaland continental split.We discuss the results of our studies, in conjunction with the previously compiled Psittaciformes cytogenetic data to delineate a picture of the chromosomal evolution of the order, concurrently with the biogeographic history of the lands in the southern Hemisphere.Considering the available data on parrot cytogenetics, a "standard parrot karyotype pattern" is proposed for evolutionary comparisons.Several biogeographic, and phylogenetically related "karyogram patterns" are also identified, and mechanisms of chromosome rearrangement that associate this patterns among them, and with the standard parrot karyotype pattern are proposed. These schemes on parrot chromosomal variation are discussed in relation to the general avian chromosome evolutionary theses proposed by cytogenetic and molecular genomic researchers.

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