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  • Insular biogeographic origins and high phylogenetic distinctiveness for a recently depleted lizard fauna from Christmas Island, Australia

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    Author(s)
    Oliver, Paul M
    Blom, Mozes PK
    Cogger, Harold G
    Fisher, Robert N
    Richmond, Jonathan Q
    Woinarski, John CZ
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Oliver, Paul M.
    Year published
    2018
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    Abstract
    Striking faunal turnover across Asia and Australasia, most famously along the eastern edge of the Sunda Shelf or ‘Wallace's Line’, has been a focus of biogeographic research for over 150 years. Here, we investigate the origins of a highly threatened endemic lizard fauna (four species) on Christmas Island. Despite occurring less 350 km south of the Sunda Shelf, this fauna mostly comprises species from clades centred on the more distant regions of Wallacea, the Pacific and Australia (more than 1000 km east). The three most divergent lineages show Miocene (approx. 23–5 Ma) divergences from sampled relatives; and have recently ...
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    Striking faunal turnover across Asia and Australasia, most famously along the eastern edge of the Sunda Shelf or ‘Wallace's Line’, has been a focus of biogeographic research for over 150 years. Here, we investigate the origins of a highly threatened endemic lizard fauna (four species) on Christmas Island. Despite occurring less 350 km south of the Sunda Shelf, this fauna mostly comprises species from clades centred on the more distant regions of Wallacea, the Pacific and Australia (more than 1000 km east). The three most divergent lineages show Miocene (approx. 23–5 Ma) divergences from sampled relatives; and have recently become extinct or extinct in the wild, likely owing to the recent introduction of a southeast Asian snake (Lycodon capucinus). Insular distributions, deep phylogenetic divergence and recent decline suggest that rather than dispersal ability or recent origins, environmental and biotic barriers have impeded these lineages from diversifying on the continental Sunda Shelf, and thereby, reinforced faunal differentiation across Wallace's Line. Our new phylogenetically informed perspective further highlights the rapid loss of ancient lineages that has occurred on Christmas Island, and underlines how the evolutionary divergence and vulnerability of many island-associated lineages may continue to be underestimated.
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    Journal Title
    BIOLOGY LETTERS
    Volume
    14
    Issue
    6
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2017.0696
    Copyright Statement
    © 2018 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution & 2018 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution author and source are credited.
    Subject
    Biological sciences
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/384379
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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