Arboreality constrains morphological evolution but not species diversification in vipers.

ABSTRACT: An increase in ecological opportunities, either through changes in the environment or acquisition of new traits, is frequently associated with an increase in species and morphological diversification. However, it is possible that certain ecological settings might prevent lineages from diversifying. Arboreality evolved multiple times in vipers, making them ideal organisms for exploring how potentially new ecological opportunities affect their morphology and speciation regimes. Arboreal snakes are frequently suggested to have a very specialized morphology, and being too large, too small, too heavy, or having short tails might be challenging for them. Using trait-evolution models, we show that arboreal vipers are evolving towards intermediate body sizes, with longer tails and more slender bod

SUBMITTER: de Alencar LRV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5745401 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature