The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates
The squamates (lizards, snakes, and relatives) today comprise more than 10,000 species, and yet their sister group, the Rhynchocephalia, is represented by a single species today, the tuatara. The explosion in squamate diversity has been tracked back to the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, 100 mill...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2022-05-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/66511 |
| _version_ | 1828374853252546560 |
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| author | Arnau Bolet Thomas L Stubbs Jorge A Herrera-Flores Michael J Benton |
| author_facet | Arnau Bolet Thomas L Stubbs Jorge A Herrera-Flores Michael J Benton |
| author_sort | Arnau Bolet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The squamates (lizards, snakes, and relatives) today comprise more than 10,000 species, and yet their sister group, the Rhynchocephalia, is represented by a single species today, the tuatara. The explosion in squamate diversity has been tracked back to the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, 100 million years ago (Ma), the time when flowering plants began their takeover of terrestrial ecosystems, associated with diversification of coevolving insects and insect-eating predators such as lizards, birds, and mammals. Squamates arose much earlier, but their long pre-Cretaceous history of some 150 million years (Myr) is documented by sparse fossils. Here, we provide evidence for an initial radiation of squamate morphology in the Middle and Late Jurassic (174–145 Ma), and show that they established their key ecological roles much earlier than had been assumed, and they have not changed them much since. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:38:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea4352f4c4e545d3b4f0f701986ace9a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:38:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea4352f4c4e545d3b4f0f701986ace9a2022-12-22T02:05:35ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2022-05-011110.7554/eLife.66511The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary ratesArnau Bolet0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4416-4560Thomas L Stubbs1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7358-1051Jorge A Herrera-Flores2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9660-4161Michael J Benton3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4323-1824Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomSchool of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomSchool of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomSchool of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomThe squamates (lizards, snakes, and relatives) today comprise more than 10,000 species, and yet their sister group, the Rhynchocephalia, is represented by a single species today, the tuatara. The explosion in squamate diversity has been tracked back to the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, 100 million years ago (Ma), the time when flowering plants began their takeover of terrestrial ecosystems, associated with diversification of coevolving insects and insect-eating predators such as lizards, birds, and mammals. Squamates arose much earlier, but their long pre-Cretaceous history of some 150 million years (Myr) is documented by sparse fossils. Here, we provide evidence for an initial radiation of squamate morphology in the Middle and Late Jurassic (174–145 Ma), and show that they established their key ecological roles much earlier than had been assumed, and they have not changed them much since.https://elifesciences.org/articles/66511ReptiliaLepidosauriaSquamataDisparityMacroevolutionfossil record |
| spellingShingle | Arnau Bolet Thomas L Stubbs Jorge A Herrera-Flores Michael J Benton The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates eLife Reptilia Lepidosauria Squamata Disparity Macroevolution fossil record |
| title | The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates |
| title_full | The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates |
| title_fullStr | The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates |
| title_short | The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates |
| title_sort | jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates |
| topic | Reptilia Lepidosauria Squamata Disparity Macroevolution fossil record |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/66511 |
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