Late Cretaceous and Tertiary vegetation history of Africa

Axelrod, Daniel I.; Raven, Peter H.

doi:10.1007/978-94-009-9951-0_5

Cited by 317 publications

(319 citation statements)

References 124 publications

(125 reference statements)

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“…These dates are contemporaneous with, or slightly earlier than, current fossil constraints on Oligocene mammal interchange between Eurasia and Africa (45). The establishment of currently disjunct oscine lineages in Asia and Africa was likely mediated by the presence of mesic forest throughout northern Africa and Eurasia before Miocene desertification (46), which generated disjunct patterns of distribution in many bird groups and other vertebrate lineages (47,48). More extensive sampling of passerine lineages will undoubtedly reveal additional unrecognized faunal connections between these regions, allowing more detailed evaluation of avian dispersal into Africa.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation

Barker

Cibois

Schikler

et al. 2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

655

867

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The order Passeriformes (''perching birds'') comprises extant species diversity comparable to that of living mammals. For over a decade, a single phylogenetic hypothesis based on DNA-DNA hybridization has provided the primary framework for numerous comparative analyses of passerine ecological and behavioral evolution and for tests of the causal factors accounting for rapid radiations within the group. We report here a strongly supported phylogenetic tree based on two single-copy nuclear gene sequences for the most complete sampling of passerine families to date. This tree is incongruent with that derived from DNA-DNA hybridization, with half of the nodes from the latter in conflict and over a third of the conflicts significant as assessed under maximum likelihood. Our historical framework suggests multiple waves of passerine dispersal from Australasia into Eurasia, Africa, and the New World, commencing as early as the Eocene, essentially reversing the classical scenario of oscine biogeography. The revised history implied by these data will require reassessment of comparative analyses of passerine diversification and adaptation.M ajor lineages of the Ϸ5,739 species of passerine birds (1) have diversified on all continents and now occupy nearly all terrestrial ecosystems. The songbirds (oscines, suborder Passeri) alone comprise nearly half of all extant avian species and represent the largest identifiable radiation of birds (2), encompassing a staggering ecological and behavioral diversity. The foundation for understanding passerine diversification and for integrating the spatial, ecological, and temporal history of the group is a comprehensive and robust phylogenetic hypothesis. A decade ago, in a pioneering work, Sibley and Ahlquist (3) used DNA-DNA hybridization to produce the first large-scale phylogenetic hypothesis for passerine birds and suggested a specific temporal history for passerine diversification. Despite oftenvoiced concerns about the robustness of this phylogeny (colloquially termed the ''Tapestry'' after its appearance on the wall at an ornithological meeting), it has provided a framework for numerous historical analyses of passerine ecology (4), behavior (5), and diversification (6, 7), and continues to fuel the search for explanations of passerine diversity (8).Recently, studies have begun to contradict aspects of the DNA hybridization hypothesis for passerines (ref. 9; citations in ref. 10). These investigations, however, used relatively short gene sequences and, more importantly, limited taxon sampling across passerines; thus the phylogenetic, biogeographic, and temporal interpretations of the radiation were incomplete, and broad tests of the DNA hybridization tree were not possible. Here we analyze 4,126 aligned positions of the nuclear genes RAG-1 and -2 from 144 passerine species in 45 families, including representatives of all but one family recognized by current taxonomy (1). We find substantial support for many portions of the passerine tree, as well as quantitative evidence for the re...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation

Barker

Cibois

Schikler

et al. 2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

655

867

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“…Contemporary drier areas in the north and south of the African continent were linked in the past. For example, during a period of cooling in the middle Miocene 15.6-12.5 million years ago (Denton 1999), and during repeated interglacial periods of the Pleistocene epoch when forests in tropical Africa contracted considerably, forming refugia with a corresponding expansion of more xeric environments (Axelrod & Raven 1978;Denton 1999). The historical distribution of pycnostigmines, as did the rest of the fauna exposed to these changes (Grubb 1999;Grubb et al 1999;Vrba 1992), followed suite, experiencing phases of being alternately continuous and disjunct, culminating in the current phase of vicariance dictated by habitat and environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A world revision of the Pycnostigminae (Cynipoidea: Figitidae) with descriptions of seven new species

Buffington

Noort

2007

Zootaxa

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“…It is also interesting that the basal divergences within Nothophryne split the lineage at the edge of the distribution, at Taratibu, from all others. This might reflect a formerly more extensive distribution of subtropical forest across the region that became increasingly isolated and restricted to moist areas (i.e Afromontane and coastal forest) over time (Axelrod and Raven, 1978;Brenan, 1978). The biogeographic interpretations of these patterns merits further investigation, particularly if additional populations are discovered on other inselbergs.…”

Section: Phylogenymentioning

confidence: 99%

The phylogenetic position and diversity of the enigmatic mongrel frog Nothophryne Poynton, 1963 (Amphibia, Anura)

Bittencourt-Silva

Conradie

Siu-Ting

et al. 2016

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

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Highlights• Using a two-tiered phylogenetic approach proves to be an efficient way to add new taxa into phylogenies.• Nothophryne is a member of Pyxicephalidae and is the sister group of Tomopterna.• First phylogeny to include representatives of all pyxicephalid genera.• Cryptic diversity of Nothophryne species revealed. 2 Graphical abstract AbstractThe phylogenetic relationships of the African mongrel frog genus Nothophryne are poorly understood. We provide the first molecular assessment of the phylogenetic position of, and diversity within, this monotypic genus from across its range -the Afromontane regions of Malawi and Mozambique. Our analysis using a two-tiered phylogenetic approach allowed us to place the genus in Pyxicephalidae. Within the family, Nothophryne grouped with Tomopterna, a hypothesis judged significantly better than alternative hypotheses proposed based on morphology. Our analyses of populations across the range of Nothophryne suggest the presence of several cryptic species, at least one species per mountain. Formal recognition of these species is pending but there is a major conservation concern for these narrowly distributed populations in an area impacted by major habitat change. The phylogenetic tree of pyxicephalids is used to examine evolution of life history, ancestral habitat, and biogeography of this group.

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Late Cretaceous and Tertiary vegetation history of Africa

Cited by 317 publications

References 124 publications

Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation

Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation

A world revision of the Pycnostigminae (Cynipoidea: Figitidae) with descriptions of seven new species

The phylogenetic position and diversity of the enigmatic mongrel frog Nothophryne Poynton, 1963 (Amphibia, Anura)

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