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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Blindsnake evolutionary tree reveals long history on Gondwana
Biology Letters, Volume 6, No. 4, Year 2010
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Description
Worm-like snakes (scolecophidians) are small, burrowing species with reduced vision. Although largely neglected in vertebrate research, knowledge of their biogeographical history is crucial for evaluating hypotheses of snake origins. We constructed a molecular dataset for scolecophidians with detailed sampling within the largest family, Typhlopidae (blindsnakes). Our results demonstrate that scolecophidians have had a long Gondwanan history, and that their initial diversification followed a vicariant event: the separation of East and West Gondwana approximately 150 Ma. We find that the earliest blindsnake lineages, representing two new families described here, were distributed on the palaeolandmass of India + Madagascar named here as Indigascar. Their later evolution out of Indigascar involved vicariance and several oceanic dispersal events, including a westward transatlantic one, unexpected for burrowing animals. The exceptional diversification of scolecophidians in the Cenozoic was probably linked to a parallel radiation of prey (ants and termites) as well as increased isolation of populations facilitated by their fossorial habits. © 2010 The Royal Society.
Authors & Co-Authors
Vidal, Nicolás
France, Paris
Museum National D'histoire Naturelle
Marin, Julie
France, Paris
Museum National D'histoire Naturelle
Morini, Marina
France, Paris
Museum National D'histoire Naturelle
Donnellan, Stephen C.
Australia, Adelaide
South Australian Museum
Australia, Adelaide
The University of Adelaide
Branch, William R.
South Africa, Humewood
Bayworld
Thomas, Richard
Puerto Rico, San Juan
Universidad de Puerto Rico
Vences, Miguel
Germany, Braunschweig
Technische Universität Braunschweig
Wynn, Addison H.
United States, Washington, D.c.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Cruaud, C.
France, Evry
Genoscope - Centre National de Séquençage
Hedges, Stephen Blair
United States, University Park
Pennsylvania State University
Statistics
Citations: 119
Authors: 10
Affiliations: 9
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1098/rsbl.2010.0220
ISSN:
17449561
e-ISSN:
1744957X
Research Areas
Cancer
Study Locations
Madagascar