| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Dunne, Emma M.
;
Farnsworth, Alexander
;
Benson, Roger B. J.
;
Godoy, Pedro L.
;
Greene, Sarah E.
;
Valdes, Paul J.
;
Lunt, Daniel J.
;
Butler, Richard J.
Total Authors: 8
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Current Biology; v. 33, n. 1, p. 14-pg., 2023-01-09. |
| Abstract | |
The ascendancy of dinosaurs to become dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems was a pivotal event in the history of life, yet the drivers of their early evolution and biodiversity are poorly understood.1-3 During their early diversification in the Late Triassic, dinosaurs were initially rare and geographically restricted, only attain-ing wider distributions and greater abundance following the end-Triassic mass extinction event.4-6 This pattern is consistent with an opportunistic expansion model, initiated by the extinction of co-occurring groups such as aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and therapsids.4,7,8 However, this pattern could instead be a response to changes in global climatic distributions through the Triassic to Jurassic transition, especially given the increasing evidence that climate played a key role in constraining Triassic dinosaur distributions.7,9-16 Here, we test this hypothesis and elucidate how climate influenced early dinosaur distribution by quantitatively examining changes in dino-saur and tetrapod "climatic niche space"across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Statistical analyses show that Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs occupied a more restricted climatic niche space than other tetrapods and dinosaurs, being excluded from the hottest, low-latitude climate zones. A subsequent, earliest Jurassic expansion of sauropodomorph geographic distribution is linked to the expansion of their preferred climatic conditions. Evolutionary model-fitting analyses provide evidence for an important evolutionary shift from cooler to warmer climatic niches during the origin of Sauropoda. These results are consistent with the hypoth-esis that global abundance of sauropodomorph dinosaurs was facilitated by climatic change and provide sup-port for the key role of climate in the ascendancy of dinosaurs. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 22/05697-9 - Using comparative methods to fill the gaps of Crocodylomorph macroevolutionary knowledge |
| Grantee: | Pedro Lorena Godoy |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |