Evolution and Paleontology Studies

This study investigates how genomic evolution affects phylogenetic relationships and divergence times in jawed vertebrates, showing that rapid radiations and varying mutation rates obscure evolutionary timelines.

This paper introduces a framework to summarize evolutionary trajectories of discrete traits using trajectory trees, applied to lizard biogeography and ecomorph evolution, revealing more unique paths than expected under standard models.

The paper shows that intermediate abundance maximizes speciation probability under limited dispersal, supported by empirical analysis of Hawaiian arthropod data.

The paper introduces EMPIRE, a model for inferring range evolution in phylogenetics, and applies it to skinks in Australia, finding speciation linked to aridification but not ecological partitioning in daughter lineages.

The paper uses a palaeorobotic model to estimate the force and velocity of a Pleistocene glyptodont's tail strike, supporting its role as an antipredator defense mechanism.

This study evaluates how ancestral state estimation affects disparity analyses, finding that fossil sampling density is more critical than estimation method choice.

The paper examines when and if we will detect a current mass extinction by analyzing extinction rates, species discovery rates, and future loss scenarios.

The paper critiques a study's findings on neoselachian diversification patterns, attributing discrepancies to methodological issues and incomplete fossil data.

This study analyzes the evolutionary dynamics of temporal niche use across tetrapods, finding increased diurnality and faster temporal niche evolution in amphibians post-K-Pg extinction.

The paper identifies Occam's bias in phylogenetic linear models and demonstrates its impact on ecological and evolutionary inferences using a study of 13,949 terrestrial vertebrates.

This study compares genus-level and species-level disparity patterns in acanthoceratid ammonoids to assess if genus-level data accurately reflect species-level evolutionary dynamics during a major ecological event.

This study examines the postnatal development of the pouchless gray short-tailed opossum, revealing insights into the evolutionary life history strategies of marsupials and their survival during the K/Pg extinction.

This study shows that kangaroos developed thickened enamel instead of high-crowned teeth in response to grazing, challenging the idea that herbivore evolution is predictable.

This study examines two gecko lineages to determine if abiotic factors or competition drive speciation, finding that abiotic factors and competitive exclusion shape phenotypic divergence and convergence.

The paper investigates how species delimitation and spatial non-independence affect inferred speciation patterns in cichlid fishes, finding that accounting for these factors alters speciation dynamics and trait associations.

This study examines how marine plankton stability and spatial heterogeneity changed over the Cenozoic, finding latitude-dependent trends with equatorial stabilization and polar destabilization.

This study reconstructs a time-calibrated hummingbird phylogeny, finding stepwise diversification in the Andes rather than a monophyletic Andean clade.

This paper evaluates how neural networks can infer diversification mechanisms from phylogenies under evolutionary relatedness dependence, finding moderate classification accuracy and parameter identifiability issues.

The paper analyzes fossil data to show that adaptive peak tracking models outperform other models in explaining trait changes over time.

The paper investigates biogeographic processes driving marine biodiversity accumulation by analyzing ancestral range reconstructions across four marine taxa.

This study examines the relationship between body size and skull/dental traits in cricetid rodents from Nebraska, finding that skull and toothrow length are better predictors of body size than molar length.

The paper models how immigration of African and North American mammals affected South American mammal diversity, finding increased overall richness but declining native diversity over time.

The paper reconstructs the evolutionary history of neonatal maturity in mammals and finds that the eutherian ancestor likely gave birth to precocial neonates, challenging the idea that precociality evolved multiple times within eutherians.

This study investigates the evolution of burrowing behavior in Lagomorphs, finding it evolved multiple times independently and correlates with sociality and higher fecundity.

This study evaluates a deep learning model for detecting mass extinctions in fossilized phylogenies, finding it slightly better than Bayesian methods but limited by simulation stochasticity and definition specificity.

The paper describes a new species of blind mole rat, Spalax lyapunovae, based on genetic, morphological, and chromosomal analyses of S. microphthalmus across its range.

The paper evaluates how well phylogenetic tip rate methods predict future diversification using fossil and extant tetrapod data, finding moderate success with some methods.

This study uses palaeoproteomics to resolve the evolutionary placement of cave bears, finding Ursus dolinensis basal within the speloid lineage.

The paper uses ancient DNA from a subway deer to clarify the taxonomic status of Torontoceros hypogaeus, suggesting it may be a distinct Odocoileus species.

This study compares dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) of modern African bush elephants to fossil mammoths to infer dietary similarities and differences.