Insights on the evolution and adaptation toward high-altitude and cold environments in the snow leopard lineage
Jiangzuo, Qigao (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology)
Madurell-Malapeira, Joan (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geologia)
Li, Xinhai (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Zoology)
Estraviz-López, Darío (Museu da Lourinhã)
Mateus, Octávio (Museu da Lourinhã)
Testu, Agnès (Université de Perpignan)
Li, Shijie (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology)
Wang, Shiqi (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology)
Deng, Tao (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology)

Data:	2025
Resum:	How snow leopard gradually adapted to the extreme environments in Tibet remains unexplored due to the scanty fossil record in Tibet. Here, we recognize five valid outside-Tibet records of the snow leopard lineage. Our results suggest that the snow leopard dispersed out of the Tibetan Plateau multiple times during the Quaternary. The osteological anatomy of the modern snow leopard shows adaptation to the steep slope and, to a lesser extent, cold/high-altitude environment. Fossils and phylogeny suggest that the snow leopard experienced a gradual strengthening of such adaptation, especially since the Middle Pleistocene (~0. 8 million years). Species distribution modeling suggests that the locations of the fossil sites are not within most suitable area, and we argue that local landscape features are more influential factors than temperature and altitude alone. Our study underscores the importance of integrating morphology, fossil records, and species distribution modeling, to comprehensively understand the evolution, ecology, and inform conservation strategies for endangered species.
Ajuts:	Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00620 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-116908GB-I00
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Publicat a:	Science advances, Vol. 11, Issue 3 (January 2025) , peadp5243, ISSN 2375-2548

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp5243
PMID: 39813339

14 p, 4.0 MB

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