The role of climate and islands in species diversification and reproductive-mode evolution of Old World tree frogs.

ABSTRACT: Large diversifications of species are known to occur unevenly across space and evolutionary lineages, but the relative importance of their driving mechanisms, such as climate, ecological opportunity and key evolutionary innovations (KEI), remains poorly understood. Here, we explore the remarkable diversification of rhacophorid frogs, which represent six percent of global amphibian diversity, utilize four distinct reproductive modes, and span a climatically variable area across mainland Asia, associated continental islands, and Africa. Using a complete species-level phylogeny, we find near-constant diversification rates but a highly uneven distribution of species richness. Montane regions on islands and some mainland regions have higher phylogenetic diversity and unique assemblages of taxa;

SUBMITTER: Ellepola G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9001633 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature