Biogeographic history of Palearctic caudates revealed by a critical appraisal of their fossil record quality and spatio-temporal distribution
Macaluso, Loredana (Università degli Studi di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Mannion, Philip (University College London. Department of Earth Sciences)
Evans, Susan (University College London. Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology)
Carnevale, Giorgio (Università degli Studi di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Monti, Sara (Università degli Studi di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Marchitelli, Domenico (Università degli Studi di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Delfino, Massimo (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	The disjunct geographical range of many lineages of caudates points to a complex evolutionary and biogeographic history that cannot be disentangled by only considering the present-day distribution of salamander biodiversity. Here, we provide a critical reappraisal of the published fossil record of caudates from the Palearctic and quantitatively evaluate the quality of the group's fossil record. Stem-Urodela and Karauridae were widespread in the Palearctic in the Middle Jurassic, suggesting an earlier, unsampled diversification for this group. Cryptobranchidae reached Europe no later than the Oligocene, but this clade was subsequently extirpated from this continent, as well as from western and central Asia. The relatively recent appearance of hynobiids in the fossil record (Early Miocene) is most likely an artefact of a taphonomic bias against the preservation of high-mountain, stream-type environments which early members likely inhabited. Salamandroids first appear in Europe, expanding into Asia by the Miocene. The apparently enigmatic and disjunct distribution of extant caudate lineages is therefore explained by a wider past geographical range, as testified by the fossil record, which was fragmented during the late Cenozoic by a combination of tectonic (i. e. the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau) and climatic drivers, resulting in regional extirpations.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación CGL2016-76431-P
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Royal Society Open Science, Vol. 9, Issue 11 (November 2022) , art. 220935, ISSN 2054-5703

DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220935
PMID: 36465678

23 p, 1.7 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles