Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Recent Synchronous Radiation of a Living Fossil. |
| Authors: |
Nagalingum, N. S., Marshall, C. R., Quental, T. B., Rai, H. S., Little, D. P., Mathews, S. |
| Source: |
Science (pre-March 2025). 11/11/2011, Vol. 334 Issue 6057, p796-799. 4p. |
| Subjects: |
Cycads, Relict plants, Plant species diversity, Jurassic paleobotany, Cretaceous paleobotany, Plant phylogeny, Plant evolution |
| Abstract: |
Modern survivors of previously more diverse lineages are regarded as living fossils, particularly when characterized by morphological stasis. Cycads are often cited as a classic example, reaching their greatest diversity during the Jurassic-Cretaceous (199.6 to 65.5 million years ago) then dwindling to their present diversity of -300 species as flowering plants rose to dominance. Using fossil-calibrated molecular phylogenies, we show that cycads underwent a near synchronous global rediversification beginning in the [ate Miocene, followed by a slowdown toward the Recent. Although the cycad lineage is ancient, our timetrees indicate that living cycad species are not much older than -12 million years. These data reject the hypothesized rote of dinosaurs in generating extant diversity and the designation of today's cycad species as living fossils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: |
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
