Temporal patterns of diversification across global cichlid biodiversity (Acanthomorpha: Cichlidae).

ABSTRACT: The contrasting distribution of species diversity across the major lineages of cichlids makes them an ideal group for investigating macroevolutionary processes. In this study, we investigate whether different rates of diversification may explain the disparity in species richness across cichlid lineages globally. We present the most taxonomically robust time-calibrated hypothesis of cichlid evolutionary relationships to date. We then utilize this temporal framework to investigate whether both species-rich and depauperate lineages are associated with rapid shifts in diversification rates and if exceptional species richness can be explained by clade age alone. A single significant rapid rate shift increase is detected within the evolutionary history of the African subfamily Pseudocrenilabrina

SUBMITTER: McMahan CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3747193 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature