Parallel sensory compensation following independent subterranean colonization by groundwater salamanders (<i>Eurycea</i>).

ABSTRACT: Lineages that have invaded subterranean environments have repeatedly evolved remarkable adaptations to life in darkness. However, observational and experimental studies in additional natural systems are needed to further our understanding of repeated evolution and convergence. In Texas, a radiation of groundwater salamanders (genus Eurycea), with independent invasions of subterranean karstic environments, offers an opportunity to investigate phenotypic convergence, parallel evolution, and the enhancement and regression of sensory systems. Adaptations to a troglobitic life in this clade include morphological, behavioral, and physiological changes within and among species. Intraspecific and interspecific variation in morphology in response to the selective pressures of life undergroun

SUBMITTER: Tovar RU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12168003 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature