Physical and environmental drivers of Paleozoic tetrapod dispersal across Pangaea.

ABSTRACT: The Carboniferous and Permian were crucial intervals in the establishment of terrestrial ecosystems, which occurred alongside substantial environmental and climate changes throughout the globe, as well as the final assembly of the supercontinent of Pangaea. The influence of these changes on tetrapod biogeography is highly contentious, with some authors suggesting a cosmopolitan fauna resulting from a lack of barriers, and some identifying provincialism. Here we carry out a detailed historical biogeographic analysis of late Paleozoic tetrapods to study the patterns of dispersal and vicariance. A likelihood-based approach to infer ancestral areas is combined with stochastic mapping to assess rates of vicariance and dispersal. Both the late Carboniferous and the end-Guadalupian are characteri

SUBMITTER: Brocklehurst N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6284015 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature