title: Causal evidence between monsoon and evolution of rhizomyine rodents.
abstract: The modern Asian monsoonal systems are currently believed to have originated around the end of the Oligocene following a crucial step of uplift of the Tibetan-Himalayan highlands. Although monsoon possibly drove the evolution of many mammal lineages during the Neogene, no evidence thereof has been provided so far. We examined the evolutionary history of a clade of rodents, the Rhizomyinae, in conjunction with our current knowledge of monsoon fluctuations over time. The macroevolutionary dynamics of rhizomyines were analyzed within a well-constrained phylogenetic framework coupled with biogeographic and evolutionary rate studies. The evolutionary novelties developed by these rodents were surveyed in parallel with the fluctuations of the Indian monsoon so as to evaluate synchroneity and postulate causal relationships. We showed the existence of three drops in biodiversity during the evolution of rhizomyines, all of which reflected elevated extinction rates. Our results demonstrated linkage of monsoon variations with the evolution and biogeography of rhizomyines. Paradoxically, the evolution of rhizomyines was accelerated during the phases of weakening of the monsoons, not of strengthening, most probably because at those intervals forest habitats declined, which triggered extinction and progressive specialization toward a burrowing existence.
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom [2] Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: López-Antoñanzas
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom [2] School of Earth, Atmospheric &Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom [3] Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Knoll
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology-Chinese Academy of Science, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Shiming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Flynn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D010802:Phylogeny; D012377:Rodentia / Q000145:classification