Search results for "Biological dispersal"
showing 10 items of 326 documents
First Early Pliocene micromammal faunas from Venta del Moro (Cabriel Basin, Spain) : new data on the Messinian dispersal of Debruijnimys
2021
The localities of La Bullana 3 and LA Bullana 2B (Valencia, E Spain) have yielded remains of Apodemusgorafensis, Paraethomys aff. abaigari, Stephanomys dubari, Apocricetus barrierei, Sciuridae indet. and Asoriculus cf. gibberodon the former, and Apodemusgorafensis, Paraethomys aff. abaigari, Stephanomys dubari, Apocricetus barrierei, Sciuridae indet., Asoriculus cf. gibberodon, Castillomysgracilis, Occitanomysbrailloni, Occitanomys sp., Paraethomys meini, Ruscinomys sp., Eliomys intermedius, Debruijnimys cf. julii and Atlantoxerussp. the latter. Based on the study of these micromammal assemblages, we propose an Early Pliocene age (MN14) for both sites. The pres-ence a gerbilid related to De…
The latest Miocene small-sized Cervidae from Monticino Quarry (Brisighella, central Italy): paleobiogeographic and biochronological implications
2021
In this paper, we described the unpublished cervid material from the latest Upper Miocene deposits of the Monticino Quarry (Brisighella, central Italy). The material includes a few teeth, some post...
The phylogeny of (Gentianaceae) and its colonization of the southern hemisphere as revealed by nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequence variation
2001
Abstract The generic circumscription and infrageneric phylogeny of Gentianella was analysed based on matK and ITS sequence variation. Our results suggested that Gentianella is polyphyletic and should be limited to species with only one nectary per petal lobe. Gentianella in such a circumscription is most closely related to one part of a highly polyphyletic Swertia. within uninectariate Gentianella two major groups could be recognized: 1) northern hemispheric species with vascularized fimbriae at the base of the corolla lobes, and 2) northern hemispheric, South American, and Austrlia/New Zealand species without vascularized fimbriae. When fimbriae are present in this latter group, they are n…
TAXONOMY AND AFFINITIES OF AFRICAN CENOZOIC METATHERIANS
2021
The record of extinct African metatherians (Mammalia, Theria) is scanty, restricted in time (Eocene–Miocene), and its taxonomy is still subject of debate. A review of all African metatherians, or alleged metatherians, known up to now, led us to the recognition of only three taxa referable to this group: (1) Kasserinotherium tunisiense (Peradectoidea?), from the early Eocene of Tunisia; (2) Peratherium africanum (Herpetotheriidae), from the early Oligocene of Egypt and Oman, and (3) an indeterminate Herpetotheriidae? from the early Miocene of Uganda. Herpetotheriids probably reached Afro-Arabia from Europe in one or more dispersal waves since the early Oligocene. Kasserinotherium , on t…
Chloroplast DNA evidence for introgression and long distance dispersal in the desert annualSenecio flavus (Asteraceae)
1995
Phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction site variation supports a close genetic relationship between the Southwest AsianSenecio flavus subsp.breviflorus and the North AmericanS. mohavensis. The intercontinental disjunct distribution of these two desert annuals may have originated via long distance dispersal. The chloroplast genomes of the Southern and North AfricanS. flavus subsp.flavus and subsp.breviflorus differ by at least ten restriction sites, while at most two restriction sites differentiate the cpDNA genomes of subsp.breviflorus and the outgroupS. squalidus. This suggests that the cpDNA genome ofS. flavus subsp.breviflorus may have resulted from introgression an…
Range size: Disentangling Current Traits and Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Factors
2006
The range size of a species can be determined by its current traits and by phylogenetic and biogeographic factors. However, only rarely have these factors been studied in combination. We use data on the geographic range sizes of all 26 Sylvia warblers to explicitly test whether range size was determined by current species-specific traits (e.g., body size, dispersal ability), phylogenetic factors (e.g., age of the lineage), or environmental, biogeographic factors (e.g., latitudinal position of the range). The results demonstrated that current traits and phylogenetic and biogeographic factors were interrelated. While a number of factors were significant in simple regression analyses, only one…
Testing reticulate versus coalescent origins of Erica lusitanica using a species phylogeny of the northern heathers (Ericeae, Ericaceae).
2015
Whilst most of the immense species richness of heathers (Calluna, Daboecia and Erica: Ericeae; Ericaceae) is endemic to Africa, particularly the Cape Floristic Region, the oldest lineages are found in the Northern Hemisphere. We present phylogenetic hypotheses for the major clades of Ericeae represented by multiple accessions of all northern Erica species and placeholder taxa for the large nested African/Madagascan clade. We identified consistent, strongly supported conflict between gene trees inferred from ITS and chloroplast DNA sequences with regard to the position of Erica lusitanica. We used coalescent simulations to test whether this conflict could be explained by coalescent stochasti…
A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Analysis of Multifactorial Land Mammal Colonization of Islands
2013
A highly debated question that engages paleontologists, zoogeographers, and zoologists is how terrestrial mammals colonize islands. The question’s oversimplification and the subjective and partial responses to it have led to reductionist models. Insular faunas and fossil assemblages result from a complex interaction of geological, biological (in a broad sense), climatic, eustatic, taphonomic, and historical processes. Insular assemblages and their accompanying variables should be investigated on a case-by-case basis. In this article, we discuss not only common misconceptions and their potential origins but also the key issues that should be addressed when dealing with the colonization of is…
Pleistocene Calabrian and Sicilian bioprovinces
2002
During the Pleistocene, southern Calabria was the area through which several mammalian taxa dispersed into the Sicilian island via the Straits of Messina. The rich fossil record of Sicily allowed for the construction of a fairly detailed bio-chronological frame that is dated by correlation of vertebrate bearing deposits with marine deposits. At present five Faunal Complexes (F.C.), characterised by the occurrence of different taxa, have been recognised. The two older Faunal Complexes (Monte Pellegrino F.C.'xes Elephas falconeri F.C.) include taxa with differently marked endemic features denoting the occurrence of an insular system made up of geographically isolated small islands, with very …
Impact of landscape on spatial genetic structure and diversity ofCoenagrion mercuriale(Zygoptera:Coenagrionidae) in northern France
2015
AbstractLoss and fragmentation of habitat is a current main cause of biodiversity loss in freshwater habitats. Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) depend on these habitats to complete their development. Fragmentation may be a particular threat for odonates because it generates a network of small habitat patches within which populations could suffer from isolation and loss of genetic diversity. The southern damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale is categorized on the IUCN red list as Near Threatened, largely because of population fragmentation and demographic declines associated with changes in land use. Small populations at the margin of this species’ range are of particular concern because the…