Evolutionary History and Climatic Correlates of Hypermelanism in Viperidae.

ABSTRACT: Body colorations have been investigated intensely concerning their adaptive significance from the ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Studies on melanism have caught growing interest thanks to its marked variability across space, time and taxon and, in ectotherms, it has been hypothesised to be driven by thermal advantages. Among reptiles, vipers show conspicuous inter- and intraspecific patterns of variation, making them excellent models to address evolutionary and adaptive patterns. We investigated the thermal melanism hypothesis across Viperidae by performing a phylogenetic comparative approach to assess whether its occurrence is phylogenetically driven or, alternatively, whether it is influenced by climate. Phylogenetic signal was detected and reconstructed the 'non-melanistic' f

SUBMITTER: Storniolo F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12000682 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature