Environmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards.

ABSTRACT: Climatic conditions changing over time and space shape the evolution of organisms at multiple levels, including temperate lizards in the family Lacertidae. Here we reconstruct a dated phylogenetic tree of 262 lacertid species based on a supermatrix relying on novel phylogenomic datasets and fossil calibrations. Diversification of lacertids was accompanied by an increasing disparity among occupied bioclimatic niches, especially in the last 10 Ma, during a period of progressive global cooling. Temperate species also underwent a genome-wide slowdown in molecular substitution rates compared to tropical and desert-adapted lacertids. Evaporative water loss and preferred temperature are correlated with bioclimatic parameters, indicating physiological adaptations to climate. Tropical, but also som

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Porta J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6733905 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature