The macroevolutionary singularity of snakes

Pascal O Title^#^{1

2

3}, Sonal Singhal^#^{3

4}, Michael C Grundler³, Gabriel C Costa^{3

5}, R Alexander Pyron^{6

7}, Timothy J Colston^{7

8}, Maggie R Grundler^{3

9

10}, Ivan Prates³, Natasha Stepanova³, Marc E H Jones^{11

12

13}, Lucas B Q Cavalcanti¹⁴, Guarino R Colli¹⁵, Nicolas Di-Poï¹⁶, Stephen C Donnellan¹⁷, Craig Moritz¹⁸, Daniel O Mesquita¹⁴, Eric R Pianka¹⁹, Stephen A Smith²⁰, Laurie J Vitt²¹, Daniel L Rabosky^#³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
² Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47408, USA.
³ Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁴ Department of Biology, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA 90747, USA.
⁵ Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL 36117, USA.
⁶ Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
⁷ Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560, USA.
⁸ Biology Department, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez 00680, Puerto Rico.
⁹ Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
¹⁰ Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
¹¹ Science Group: Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians and Birds Section, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
¹² Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
¹³ Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
¹⁴ Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba 58051-900, Brazil.
¹⁵ Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal 70910-900, Brazil.
¹⁶ Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
¹⁷ South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
¹⁸ Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.
¹⁹ Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
²⁰ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
²¹ Sam Noble Museum and Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38386744
DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2449

The macroevolutionary singularity of snakes

Pascal O Title et al. Science. 2024.

. 2024 Feb 23;383(6685):918-923.

doi: 10.1126/science.adh2449. Epub 2024 Feb 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
² Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47408, USA.
³ Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁴ Department of Biology, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA 90747, USA.
⁵ Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL 36117, USA.
⁶ Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
⁷ Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560, USA.
⁸ Biology Department, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez 00680, Puerto Rico.
⁹ Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
¹⁰ Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
¹¹ Science Group: Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians and Birds Section, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
¹² Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
¹³ Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
¹⁴ Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba 58051-900, Brazil.
¹⁵ Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal 70910-900, Brazil.
¹⁶ Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
¹⁷ South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
¹⁸ Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.
¹⁹ Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
²⁰ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
²¹ Sam Noble Museum and Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38386744
DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2449

Abstract

Snakes and lizards (Squamata) represent a third of terrestrial vertebrates and exhibit spectacular innovations in locomotion, feeding, and sensory processing. However, the evolutionary drivers of this radiation remain poorly known. We infer potential causes and ultimate consequences of squamate macroevolution by combining individual-based natural history observations (>60,000 animals) with a comprehensive time-calibrated phylogeny that we anchored with genomic data (5400 loci) from 1018 species. Due to shifts in the dynamics of speciation and phenotypic evolution, snakes have transformed the trophic structure of animal communities through the recurrent origin and diversification of specialized predatory strategies. Squamate biodiversity reflects a legacy of singular events that occurred during the early history of snakes and reveals the impact of historical contingency on vertebrate biodiversity.

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The macroevolutionary singularity of snakes

Affiliations

The macroevolutionary singularity of snakes

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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