Amber fossils demonstrate deep-time stability of Caribbean lizard communities

Title
Amber fossils demonstrate deep-time stability of Caribbean lizard communities
Publication Date
2015
Author(s)
Sherratt, Emma
del Rosario Castaneda, Maria
Garwood, Russell J
Mahler, D Luke
Sanger, Thomas J
Herrel, Anthony
de Queiroz, Kevin
Losos, Jonathan B
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Place of publication
United States of America
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1506516112
UNE publication id
une:18202
Abstract
Whether the structure of ecological communities can exhibit stability over macroevolutionary timescales has long been debated. The similarity of independently evolved 'Anolis' lizard communities on environmentally similar Greater Antillean islands supports the notion that community evolution is deterministic. However, a dearth of Caribbean 'Anolis' fossils - only three have been described to date - has precluded direct investigation of the stability of anole communities through time. Here we report on an additional 17 fossil anoles in Dominican amber dating to 15-20 My before the present. Using data collected primarily by X-ray microcomputed tomography (X-ray micro-CT), we demonstrate that the main elements of Hispaniolan anole ecomorphological diversity were in place in the Miocene. Phylogenetic analysis yields results consistent with the hypothesis that the ecomorphs that evolved in the Miocene are members of the same ecomorph clades extant today. The primary axes of ecomorphological diversity in the Hispaniolan anole fauna appear to have changed little between the Miocene and the present, providing evidence for the stability of ecological communities over macroevolutionary timescales.
Link
Citation
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(32), p. 9961-9966
ISSN
1091-6490
0027-8424
Start page
9961
End page
9966

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