Rapid increase in snake dietary diversity and complexity following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

ABSTRACT: The Cenozoic marked a period of dramatic ecological opportunity in Earth history due to the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs as well as to long-term physiographic changes that created new biogeographic theaters and new habitats. Snakes underwent massive ecological diversification during this period, repeatedly evolving novel dietary adaptations and prey preferences. The evolutionary tempo and mode of these trophic ecological changes remain virtually unknown, especially compared with co-radiating lineages of birds and mammals that are simultaneously predators and prey of snakes. Here, we assemble a dataset on snake diets (34,060 observations on the diets of 882 species) to investigate the history and dynamics of the multidimensional trophic niche during the global radiation of snakes. Our

SUBMITTER: Grundler MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8516226 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature