Global cooling and drying triggered a burst of turtle diversification
In short: Researchers studying a massive molecular dataset of 591 turtles found that the group's evolutionary history was marked by a sudden threefold increase in diversification. This burst of new species was linked to the emergence of new continental margins during the Eocene-Oligocene transition, roughly 30 million years ago.
By analyzing a phylogeny representing 80% of all turtle species, the team observed that global cooling and drying simultaneously drove regional extinctions in fossil-bearing areas and created new habitats. While the fossil record shows a major extinction event during this period, the molecular data reveals that the emergence of new continental margins provided the ecological opportunity for a spike in speximation.
The study relies on a molecular dataset and phylogenetic estimation, which may not capture the full complexity of all extinct lineages.
Why it matters: Climate-driven habitat changes can simultaneously trigger mass extinctions and rapid bursts of new species evolution.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Research: Thomson et al. (2021). A global phylogeny of turtles reveals a burst of climate-associated diversification on continental margins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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