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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

he pre-eminent role of directional selection in generating extreme morphological change in glyptodonts (Cingulata; Xenarthra

Full text
Author(s):
Machado, Fabio A. [1] ; Marroig, Gabriel [2] ; Hubbe, Alex [3]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Virginia Tech, Dept Biol, Blacksburg, VA 24061 - USA
[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Genet & Biol Evolut, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil
[3] Univ Fed Bahia, Inst Geociencias, Dept Oceanog, Salvador, BA - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; v. 289, n. 1967 JAN 26 2022.
Web of Science Citations: 1
Abstract

The prevalence of stasis on macroevolution has been classically taken as evidence of the strong role of stabilizing selection in constraining morphological change. Rates of evolution calculated over longer timescales tend to fall below the expected under genetic drift, suggesting that directional selection signals are erased at longer timescales. Here, we investigated the rates of morphological evolution of the skull in a fossil lineage that underwent extreme morphological modification, the glyptodonts. Contrary to what was expected, we show here that directional selection was the primary process during the evolution of glyptodonts. Furthermore, the reconstruction of selection patterns shows that traits selected to generate a glyptodont morphology are markedly different from those operating on extant armadillos. Changes in both direction and magnitude of selection are probably tied to glyptodonts' invasion of a specialist-herbivore adaptive zone. These results suggest that directional selection might have played a more critical role in the evolution of extreme morphologies than previously imagined. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/24937-9 - Xenarthran (Mammalia) cranial evolution: modularity and its evolutionary consequences on the morphological diversification
Grantee:Alex Christian Rohrig Hubbe
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
FAPESP's process: 11/14295-7 - Modularity and its evolutionary consequences
Grantee:Gabriel Henrique Marroig Zambonato
Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants