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Datta D, Bajpai S. Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8054. [PMID: 38637509 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58377-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, ~ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of ~ 11-15 m makes this new taxon (Vasuki indicus gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at ~ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, Vasuki forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon Madtsoia pisdurensis and the North African Late Eocene Gigantophis garstini. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that Vasuki represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at ~ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debajit Datta
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
| | - Sunil Bajpai
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
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2
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Chaitanya R, McGuire JA, Karanth P, Meiri S. Their fates intertwined: diversification patterns of the Asian gliding vertebrates may have been forged by dipterocarp trees. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231379. [PMID: 37583322 PMCID: PMC10427812 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The repeated evolution of gliding in diverse Asian vertebrate lineages is hypothesized to have been triggered by the dominance of tall dipterocarp trees in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. These dipterocarp forests have acted as both centres of diversification and climatic refugia for gliding vertebrates, and support most of their extant diversity. We predict similarities in the diversification patterns of dipterocarp trees and gliding vertebrates, and specifically test whether episodic diversification events such as rate shifts and/or mass extinctions were temporally congruent in these groups. We analysed diversification patterns in reconstructed timetrees of Asian dipterocarps, the most speciose gliding vertebrates from different classes (Draco lizards, gliding frogs and Pteromyini squirrels) and compared them with similar-sized clades of non-gliding relatives (Diploderma lizards, Philautus frogs and Callosciurinae squirrels) from Southeast Asia. We found significant declines in net-diversification rates of dipterocarps and the gliding vertebrates during the Pliocene-Pleistocene, but not in the non-gliding groups. We conclude that the homogeneity and temporal coincidence of these rate declines point to a viable ecological correlation between dipterocarps and the gliding vertebrates. Further, we suggest that while the diversification decay in dipterocarps was precipitated by post-Miocene aridification of Asia, the crises in the gliding vertebrates were induced by both events concomitantly.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jimmy A. McGuire
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Praveen Karanth
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
| | - Shai Meiri
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
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3
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Sampaio FL, Day JJ, Mendis Wickramasinghe LJ, Cyriac VP, Papadopoulou A, Brace S, Rajendran A, Simon-Nutbrown C, Flouris T, Kapli P, Ranga Vidanapathirana D, Kotharambath R, Kodandaramaiah U, Gower DJ. A near-complete species-level phylogeny of uropeltid snakes harnessing historical museum collections as a DNA source. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023; 178:107651. [PMID: 36306995 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Uropeltidae is a clade of small fossorial snakes (ca. 64 extant species) endemic to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Uropeltid taxonomy has been confusing, and the status of some species has not been revised for over a century. Attempts to revise uropeltid systematics and undertake evolutionary studies have been hampered by incompletely sampled and incompletely resolved phylogenies. To address this issue, we take advantage of historical museum collections, including type specimens, and apply genome-wide shotgun (GWS) sequencing, along with recent field sampling (using Sanger sequencing) to establish a near-complete multilocus species-level phylogeny (ca. 87% complete at species level). This results in a phylogeny that supports the monophyly of all genera (if Brachyophidium is considered a junior synonym of Teretrurus), and provides a firm platform for future taxonomic revision. Sri Lankan uropeltids are probably monophyletic, indicating a single colonisation event of this island from Indian ancestors. However, the position of Rhinophis goweri (endemic to Eastern Ghats, southern India) is unclear and warrants further investigation, and evidence that it may nest within the Sri Lankan radiation indicates a possible recolonisation event. DNA sequence data and morphology suggest that currently recognised uropeltid species diversity is substantially underestimated. Our study highlights the benefits of integrating museum collections in molecular genetic analyses and their role in understanding the systematics and evolutionary history of understudied organismal groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipa L Sampaio
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Julia J Day
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | | | - Vivek P Cyriac
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695 551, India
| | - Anna Papadopoulou
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Selina Brace
- Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Albert Rajendran
- Research Department of Zoology, St. John's College, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Cornelia Simon-Nutbrown
- The Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4BA, UK; Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tomas Flouris
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paschalia Kapli
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | | | - Ramachandran Kotharambath
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Kasaragod, Kerala, India
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695 551, India
| | - David J Gower
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Kasaragod, Kerala, India.
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4
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Ganesh S, Punith K, Adhikari OD, Achyuthan N. A new species of shieldtail snake (Squamata: Uropeltidae: Uropeltis) from the Bengaluru uplands, India. JOURNAL OF THREATENED TAXA 2021. [DOI: 10.11609/jott.6736.13.6.18508-18517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
A new species of shieldtail snake, Uropeltis jerdoni, is here described based on eight specimens from Devarayana Durga and Nandi Durga that are under-researched hills near Bengaluru in southern India. The new species is a member of the Uropeltis ceylanica group that can be distinguished from related taxa as follows: a truncate and flattened caudal shield with a circumscribed concave disc; part of rostral visible from above subequal to its distance from frontal; rostral partially separating nasal scales; 17: 17: 17 dorsal scale rows; 140–148 ventral scales; 7–9 pairs of subcaudals; dark blackish-grey above, powdered with minute yellow specks, yellow lateral stripes on neck and tail; ventrolateral region with yellow mottling; venter black. This new species is currently known only from two ranges Devarayana Durga and Nandi Durga but judging by the presence of similar, adjacent massifs, is hypothesized to be present in nearby hillocks surrounding Bengaluru City.
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Cyriac VP, Kodandaramaiah U. Warning signals promote morphological diversification in fossorial uropeltid snakes (Squamata: Uropeltidae). Zool J Linn Soc 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Many species possess warning colourations that signal unprofitability to predators. Warning colourations are also thought to provide prey with a ‘predator-free space’ and promote niche expansion. However, how such strategies release a species from environmental constraints and facilitate niche expansion is not clearly understood. Fossoriality in reptiles imposes several morphological limits on head and body size to facilitate burrowing underground, but many fossorial snakes live close to the surface and occasionally move above ground, exposing them to predators. In such cases, evolving antipredator defences that reduce predation on the surface could potentially relax the morphological constraints associated with fossoriality and promote morphological diversification. Fossorial uropeltid snakes possess varying degrees of conspicuous warning colourations that reduce avian predation when active above ground. We predicted that species with more conspicuous colourations will exhibit more robust body forms and show faster rates of morphological evolution because constraints imposed by fossoriality are relaxed. Using a comparative phylogenetic approach on the genus Uropeltis, we show that more conspicuous species tend to have more robust morphologies and have faster rates of head-shape evolution. Overall, we find that the evolution of warning colourations in Uropeltis can facilitate niche expansion by influencing rates of morphological diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Philip Cyriac
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE) and School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala P.O., Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, India
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE) and School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala P.O., Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, India
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Agarwal I, Thackeray T, Pal S, Khandekar A. Granite boulders act as deep‐time climate refugia: A Miocene divergent clade of rupicolous
Cnemaspis
Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Mysore Plateau, India, with descriptions of three new species. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ishan Agarwal
- Thackeray Wildlife Foundation Mumbai India
- National Centre for Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Bengaluru India
| | | | - Saunak Pal
- Centre for Ecological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Bangalore India
- Bombay Natural History Society Mumbai India
| | - Akshay Khandekar
- Thackeray Wildlife Foundation Mumbai India
- National Centre for Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Bengaluru India
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7
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Lajmi A, Karanth PK. Eocene–Oligocene cooling and the diversification of Hemidactylus geckos in Peninsular India. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2020; 142:106637. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Wollenberg Valero KC, Marshall JC, Bastiaans E, Caccone A, Camargo A, Morando M, Niemiller ML, Pabijan M, Russello MA, Sinervo B, Werneck FP, Sites JW, Wiens JJ, Steinfartz S. Patterns, Mechanisms and Genetics of Speciation in Reptiles and Amphibians. Genes (Basel) 2019; 10:genes10090646. [PMID: 31455040 PMCID: PMC6769790 DOI: 10.3390/genes10090646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 07/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In this contribution, the aspects of reptile and amphibian speciation that emerged from research performed over the past decade are reviewed. First, this study assesses how patterns and processes of speciation depend on knowing the taxonomy of the group in question, and discuss how integrative taxonomy has contributed to speciation research in these groups. This study then reviews the research on different aspects of speciation in reptiles and amphibians, including biogeography and climatic niches, ecological speciation, the relationship between speciation rates and phenotypic traits, and genetics and genomics. Further, several case studies of speciation in reptiles and amphibians that exemplify many of these themes are discussed. These include studies of integrative taxonomy and biogeography in South American lizards, ecological speciation in European salamanders, speciation and phenotypic evolution in frogs and lizards. The final case study combines genomics and biogeography in tortoises. The field of amphibian and reptile speciation research has steadily moved forward from the assessment of geographic and ecological aspects, to incorporating other dimensions of speciation, such as genetic mechanisms and evolutionary forces. A higher degree of integration among all these dimensions emerges as a goal for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathon C Marshall
- Department of Zoology, Weber State University, 1415 Edvalson Street, Dept. 2505, Ogden, UT 84401, USA
| | - Elizabeth Bastiaans
- Department of Biology, State University of New York, College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 13820, USA
| | - Adalgisa Caccone
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Arley Camargo
- Centro Universitario de Rivera, Universidad de la República, Ituzaingó 667, Rivera 40000, Uruguay
| | - Mariana Morando
- Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales (IPEEC, CENPAT-CONICET) Bv. Brown 2915, Puerto Madryn U9120ACD, Argentina
| | - Matthew L Niemiller
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
| | - Maciej Pabijan
- Department of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, ul. Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Michael A Russello
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 3247 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Barry Sinervo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Coastal Biology Building, 130 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Fernanda P Werneck
- Programa de Coleções Científicas Biológicas, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69060-000, Brazil
| | - Jack W Sites
- Department of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
| | - John J Wiens
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Sebastian Steinfartz
- Molecular Evolution and Systematics of Animals, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Cyriac VP, Kodandaramaiah U. Conspicuous colours reduce predation rates in fossorial uropeltid snakes. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7508. [PMID: 31428543 PMCID: PMC6698130 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Uropeltid snakes (Family Uropeltidae) are non-venomous, fossorial snakes that are found above ground occasionally, during which time they are exposed to predation. Many species are brightly coloured, mostly on the ventral surface, but these colours are expected to have no function below the ground. Observations have shown that the cephalic resemblance (resemblance to heads) of uropeltid tails may direct attacks of predators towards the hardened tails, thereby potentially increasing handling times for predators. Experiments have also shown that predators learn to avoid prey that are non-toxic and palatable but are difficult to capture, hard to process or require long handling time when such prey advertise their unprofitability through conspicuous colours. We here postulate that uropeltid snakes use their bright colours to signal long handling times associated with attack deflection to the tails, thereby securing reduced predation from predators that can learn to associate colour with handling time. Captive chicken experiments with dough models mimicking uropeltids indicate that attacks were more common on the tail than on the head. Field experiments with uropeltid clay models show that the conspicuous colours of these snakes decrease predation rates compared to cryptic models, but a novel conspicuous colour did not confer such a benefit. Overall, our experiments provide support for our hypothesis that the conspicuous colours of these snakes reduce predation, possibly because these colours advertise unprofitability due to long handling times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Philip Cyriac
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution and School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution and School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
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10
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Joshi J, Edgecombe GD. Evolutionary biogeography of the centipede genus Ethmostigmus from Peninsular India: testing an ancient vicariance hypothesis for Old World tropical diversity. BMC Evol Biol 2019; 19:41. [PMID: 30709332 PMCID: PMC6359765 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-019-1367-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding the relative influence of vicariance and dispersal in shaping Old World tropical biodiversity remains a challenge. We aimed to infer the roles of these alternative biogeographic processes using a species time-tree for the centipede genus Ethmostigmus from the Old World tropics. Additionally, we explored fine-scale biogeographic patterns for an endemic radiation of Ethmostigmus from the peninsular Indian Plate (PIP), an area with complex geological and climatic history. RESULTS Divergence time estimates suggest that Ethmostigmus began diversifying in the Late Cretaceous, 99 (± 25) million years ago (Ma), its early biogeographic history shaped by vicariance. Members of Ethmostigmus in PIP form a monophyletic group that underwent endemic radiation in the Late Cretaceous, 72 (± 25) Ma. In contrast, a new species of Ethmostigmus from north-east India formed a clade with African/Australian species. Fine-scale biogeographic analyses in PIP predict that Indian Ethmostigmus had an ancestor in southern-central parts of the Western Ghats. This was followed by four independent dispersal events from the southern-central Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats, and between different parts of the Western Ghats in the Cenozoic. CONCLUSIONS Our results are consistent with Gondwanan break-up driving the early evolutionary history of the genus Ethmostigmus. Multiple dispersal events coinciding with geo-climatic events throughout the Cenozoic shaped diversification in PIP. Ethmostigmus species in PIP are restricted to wet forests and have retained that niche throughout their diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jahnavi Joshi
- The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
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11
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Lajmi A, Bansal R, Giri V, Karanth P. Phylogeny and biogeography of the endemic Hemidactylus geckos of the Indian subregion suggest multiple dispersals from Peninsular India to Sri Lanka. Zool J Linn Soc 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zly047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aparna Lajmi
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Rohini Bansal
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Varad Giri
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Praveen Karanth
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
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12
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Cyriac VP, Kodandaramaiah U. Digging their own macroevolutionary grave: fossoriality as an evolutionary dead end in snakes. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:587-598. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- V. P. Cyriac
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE) and School of Biology; Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram; Thiruvananthapuram India
| | - U. Kodandaramaiah
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE) and School of Biology; Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram; Thiruvananthapuram India
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