Crossing the line: increasing body size in a trans-Wallacean lizard radiation (Cyrtodactylus, Gekkota)
Date
2014
Authors
Oliver, P.
Skipwith, P.
Lee, M.
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Journal article
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Biology Letters, 2014; 10(10):20140479-1-20140479-4
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Paul M. Oliver, Phillip Skipwith and Michael S.Y. Lee
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Abstract
The region between the Asian and Australian continental plates (Wallacea) demarcates the transition between two differentiated regional biotas. Despite this striking pattern, some terrestrial lineages have successfully traversed the marine barriers of Wallacea and subsequently diversified in newly colonized regions. The hypothesis that these dispersals between biogeographic realms are correlated with detectable shifts in evolutionary trajectory has however rarely been tested. Here, we analyse the evolution of body size in a widespread and exceptionally diverse group of gekkotan lizards (Cyrtodactylus), and show that a clade that has dispersed eastwards and radiated in the Australopapuan region appears to have significantly expanded its body size 'envelope' and repeatedly evolved gigantism. This pattern suggests that the biotic composition of the proto-Papuan Archipelago provided a permissive environment in which new colonists were released from evolutionary constraints operating to the west of Wallacea.
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© 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.