Latitudinal diversity gradients in Mesozoic non-marine turtles

David B. Nicholson, Patricia A. Holroyd, Paul Valdes, Paul M. Barrett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
290 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The latitudinal biodiversity gradient (LBG)—the pattern of increasing taxonomic richness with decreasing latitude—is prevalent in the structure of the modern biota. However, some freshwater taxa show peak richness at mid-latitudes; for example, extant Testudines (turtles, terrapins and tortoises) exhibit their greatest diversity at 25° N, a pattern sometimes attributed to recent bursts of climatically mediated species diversification. Here, we test whether this pattern also characterizes the Mesozoic distribution of turtles, to determine whether it was established during either their initial diversification or as a more modern phenomenon. Using global occurrence data for non-marine testudinate genera, we find that subsampled richness peaks at palaeolatitudes of 15–30°N in the Jurassic, 30–45°N through the Cretaceous to the Campanian, and from 30° to 60°N in the Maastrichtian. The absence of a significant diversity peak in southern latitudes is consistent with results from climatic models and turtle niche modelling that demonstrate a dearth of suitable turtle habitat in Gondwana during the Jurassic and Late Cretaceous. Our analyses confirm that the modern testudinate LBG has a deep-time origin and further demonstrate that LBGs are not always expressed as a smooth, equator-to-pole distribution.

Original languageEnglish
Article number160581
Number of pages8
JournalRoyal Society Open Science
Volume3
Issue number11
Early online date23 Nov 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2016

Keywords

  • Genus richness
  • Geographical range
  • Latitudinal biodiversity gradient
  • Subsampling
  • Testudinata

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Latitudinal diversity gradients in Mesozoic non-marine turtles'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this