Tempo and Mode of the Evolution of Venom and Poison in Tetrapods.

ABSTRACT: Toxic weaponry in the form of venom and poison has evolved in most groups of animals, including all four major lineages of tetrapods. Moreover, the evolution of such traits has been linked to several key aspects of the biology of toxic animals including life-history and diversification. Despite this, attempts to investigate the macroevolutionary patterns underlying such weaponry are lacking. In this study we analyse patterns of venom and poison evolution across reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and birds using a suite of phylogenetic comparative methods. We find that each major lineage has a characteristic pattern of trait evolution, but mammals and reptiles evolve under a surprisingly similar regime, whilst that of amphibians appears to be particularly distinct and highly contrasting compare

SUBMITTER: Harris RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4963826 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature