@article {147295, title = {DNA barcodes from over-a-century-old type specimens shed light on the taxonomy of a group of rare butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Calinaginae).}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {19}, year = {2024}, month = {2024}, pages = {e0305825}, abstract = {

We analyzed COI barcode sequences from 138 over-a-century old specimens of Calinaga including 36 name-bearing type specimens stored at the Natural History Museum London. These new data, combined with previously available RPS5 sequences, divide the Calinaga samples into four well-supported mitochondrial lineages that together with a novel wing-pattern analysis, support the recognition of six species (lhatso, buddha, brahma, aborica, formosana and davidis), with all other names subsumed either as subspecies or synonyms. One new taxon is described, Calinaga aborica naima Vane-Wright, ssp. n.

}, keywords = {Animals, Butterflies, DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic, Electron Transport Complex IV, Phylogeny, Wings, Animal}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0305825}, author = {Todisco, Valentina and Basu, Dipendra Nath and Prosser, Sean W J and Russell, Stephen and Mutanen, Marko and Zilli, Alberto and Huertas, Blanca and Kunte, Krushnamegh and Vane-Wright, Richard} } @article {152146, title = {Mitochondrial genetic diversity of pest and vector species, Frankliniella schultzei (Thripidae: Thripinae).}, journal = {Mol Biol Rep}, volume = {52}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 Dec 17}, pages = {55}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) is a serious pest and a carrier of tospoviruses in major agricultural crops. This species is a historical and unresolved species complex that contains genetically different cryptic species across the globe.

METHODS AND RESULTS: DNA barcodes were generated from freshly collected specimens of F. schultzei from India and Australia using the sanger sequencing. Seventy-five COI sequences were generated from India and Australia. Moreover, 318 sequences were downloaded (India, Australia, Pakistan, and Africa) from the NCBI GenBank to explore the genetic diversity and phylogeny. The minimum and maximum mean interspecific distance between 393 sequences was found to be 7.97\% and 21.50\%, respectively. Bayesian and Neighbour joining clustering indicated the presence of five putative species within F. schultzei that had sympatry and allopatry. Moreover, 20 haplotypes and 140 polymorphic sites were identified. The African clade is unique; it does not share haplotypes with any other countries, suggesting it may represent the true F. schultzei. Haplotype network analysis showed shallow gene flow and deep genetic variation between the populations. Signatures of recent population history events were measured using Fu{\textquoteright}s Fs test and Tajima{\textquoteright}s D test. Morphometric analysis based on seven characters is also carried out.

CONCLUSION: Phylogeny and genetic distance revealed the presence of five putative species within F. schultzei. On the contrary, morphology does not unequivocally corroborate the phylogenetic results, as morphometric analysis showed overlap among these clades. To resolve F. schultzei species complex, whole genome-based sequencing data are very much necessitated.

}, keywords = {Animals, Australia, Bayes Theorem, DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic, DNA, Mitochondrial, Gene Flow, Genetic Variation, Haplotypes, India, Insect Vectors, Mitochondria, Phylogeny, Thysanoptera}, issn = {1573-4978}, doi = {10.1007/s11033-024-10108-4}, author = {Singha, Devkant and Patidar, Abhishek and Pal, Shash and Tyagi, Kaomud and Kumar, Vikas} } @article {149377, title = {Unraveling the genomic diversity and admixture history of captive tigers in the United States.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {121}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 Sep 24}, pages = {e2402924121}, abstract = {

Genomic studies of endangered species have primarily focused on describing diversity patterns and resolving phylogenetic relationships, with the overarching goal of informing conservation efforts. However, few studies have investigated genomic diversity housed in captive populations. For tigers (), captive individuals vastly outnumber those in the wild, but their diversity remains largely unexplored. Privately owned captive tiger populations have remained an enigma in the conservation community, with some believing that these individuals are severely inbred, while others believe they may be a source of now-extinct diversity. Here, we present a large-scale genetic study of the private (non-zoo) captive tiger population in the United States, also known as "Generic" tigers. We find that the Generic tiger population has an admixture fingerprint comprising all six extant wild tiger subspecies. Of the 138 Generic individuals sequenced for the purpose of this study, no individual had ancestry from only one subspecies. We show that the Generic tiger population has a comparable amount of genetic diversity relative to most wild subspecies, few private variants, and fewer deleterious mutations. We observe inbreeding coefficients similar to wild populations, although there are some individuals within both the Generic and wild populations that are substantially inbred. Additionally, we develop a reference panel for tigers that can be used with imputation to accurately distinguish individuals and assign ancestry with ultralow coverage (0.25{\texttimes}) data. By providing a cost-effective alternative to whole-genome sequencing (WGS), the reference panel provides a resource to assist in tiger conservation efforts for both ex- and in situ populations.

}, keywords = {Animals, Animals, Zoo, Conservation of Natural Resources, Endangered Species, Genetic Variation, Genome, Genomics, Phylogeny, Tigers, United States}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.2402924121}, author = {Armstrong, Ellie E and Mooney, Jazlyn A and Solari, Katherine A and Kim, Bernard Y and Barsh, Gregory S and Grant, Victoria B and Greenbaum, Gili and Kaelin, Christopher B and Panchenko, Katya and Pickrell, Joseph K and Rosenberg, Noah and Ryder, Oliver A and Yokoyama, Tsuya and Ramakrishnan, Uma and Petrov, Dmitri A and Hadly, Elizabeth A} } @article {121923, title = {The tempo and mode of character evolution in the assembly of mimetic communities.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {120}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Jan 03}, pages = {e2203724120}, abstract = {

Multitrait adaptive evolution is shaped by factors such as phylogenetic and functional constraints as well as the intensity and direction of selection. The tempo and mode of such multitrait evolution can differentially impact the assembly of biological communities. Batesian mimicry, in which undefended prey gain a fitness advantage by evolving a resemblance to aposematic models, involves adaptive evolution of multiple traits such as color patterns and flight morphology. To elucidate the evolutionary mechanisms of such multitrait adaptations, we evaluated the tempo and mode of adaptive convergence in flight morphology and color patterns in mimetic butterfly communities. We found that compared with Batesian mimics or nonmimetic sister species, models showed significantly faster rates of aposematic trait evolution, creating adaptive peaks for mimicry. At the community level, the degree of mimetic resemblance between mimics and models was positively correlated with the rate of character evolution, but independent of phylogenetic relatedness. Monomorphic mimics and female-limited mimics converged on the color patterns of models to a similar degree, showing that there were no constraints on mimetic trait evolution with respect to sex-specific selections. Convergence was driven by the greater lability of color patterns, which evolved at significantly faster rates than the phylogenetically conserved flight morphological traits, indicating that the two traits evolve under differential selection pressures and/or functional and genetic constraints. These community-wide patterns show that during the assembly of a community, the tempo of adaptive evolution is nonlinear, and specific to the underlying functional relationships and key traits that define the community.

}, keywords = {Animals, Biological Evolution, Biological Mimicry, Biota, Butterflies, Excipients, Female, Male, Phylogeny, Predatory Behavior}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.2203724120}, author = {Basu, Dipendra Nath and Bhaumik, Vaishali and Kunte, Krushnamegh} } @article {115027, title = {Computational analysis of potential candidate genes involved in the cold stress response of ten Rosaceae members.}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {23}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 Jul 16}, pages = {516}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Plant species from Rosaceae family are economically important. One of the major environmental factors impacting those species is cold stress. Although several Rosaceae plant genomes have recently been sequenced, there have been very few research conducted on cold upregulated genes and their promoter binding sites. In this study, we used computational approaches to identify and analyse potential cold stress response genes across ten Rosaceae family members.

RESULTS: Cold stress upregulated gene data from apple and strawberry were used to identify syntelogs in other Rosaceae species. Gene duplication analysis was carried out to better understand the distribution of these syntelog genes in different Rosaceae members. A total of 11,145 popular abiotic stress transcription factor-binding sites were identified in the upstream region of these potential cold-responsive genes, which were subsequently categorised into distinct transcription factor (TF) classes. MYB classes of transcription factor binding site (TFBS) were abundant, followed by bHLH, WRKY, and AP2/ERF. TFBS patterns in the promoter regions were compared among these species and gene families, found to be quite different even amongst functionally related syntelogs. A case study on important cold stress responsive transcription factor family, AP2/ERF showed less conservation in TFBS patterns in the promoter regions. This indicates that syntelogs from the same group may be comparable at the gene level but not at the level of cis-regulatory elements. Therefore, for such genes from the same family, different repertoire of TFs could be recruited for regulation and expression. Duplication events must have played a significant role in the similarity of TFBS patterns amongst few syntelogs of closely related species.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study overall suggests that, despite being from the same gene family, different combinations of TFs may play a role in their regulation and expression. The findings of this study will provide information about potential genes involved in the cold stress response, which will aid future functional research of these gene families involved in many important biological processes.

}, keywords = {Cold-Shock Response, Gene Expression Regulation, Plant, Multigene Family, Phylogeny, Plant Proteins, Rosaceae, Stress, Physiological, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1471-2164}, doi = {10.1186/s12864-022-08751-x}, author = {Shafi, K Mohamed and Sowdhamini, Ramanathan} } @article {112957, title = {The thermal niche and phylogenetic assembly of evergreen tree metacommunities in a mid-to-upper tropical montane zone.}, journal = {Proc Biol Sci}, volume = {289}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 Jun 29}, pages = {20220038}, abstract = {

Frost and freezing temperatures have posed an obstacle to tropical woody evergreen plants over evolutionary time scales. Thus, along tropical elevation gradients, frost may influence woody plant community structure by filtering out lowland tropical clades and allowing extra-tropical lineages to establish at higher elevations. Here we assess the extent to which frost and freezing temperatures influence the taxonomic and phylogenetic structure of naturally patchy evergreen forests (locally known as ) along a mid-upper montane elevation gradient in the Western Ghats, India. Specifically, we examine the role of large-scale macroclimate and factors affecting local microclimates, including patch size and distance from edge, in driving metacommunity structure. We find that the metacommunity shows phylogenetic overdispersion with elevation, with greater representation of extra-tropical lineages above 2000 m, and marked turnover in taxonomic composition of woody communities near the frost-affected forest edge above 2000 m, from those below 2000 m. Both minimum winter temperature and patch size were equally important in determining metacommunity structure, with plots inside very large dominated by older tropical lineages, with many endemics. Phylogenetic overdispersion in the upper montane metacommunity thus resulted from tropical lineages persisting in the interiors of large closed frost-free where their regeneration niche has been preserved over time.

}, keywords = {Biological Evolution, Cold Temperature, Fever, Forests, Phylogeny, Wood}, issn = {1471-2954}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.2022.0038}, author = {Das, Arundhati Abin and Ratnam, Jayashree} } @article {78093, title = {Two more new Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae)~from Tamil Nadu, India.}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4729}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 Jan 29}, pages = {zootaxa.4729.2.6}, abstract = {

Two new species of the gekkonid genus Hemiphyllodactylus are described from mountains of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, southern India. Hemiphyllodactylus nilgiriensis sp. nov. and H. peninsularis sp. nov. are \> 5 \% divergent in the mitochondrial ND2 gene from each other and members of the H. aurantiacus complex and differ from each other and members of the H. aurantiacus complex in several meristic characters and colouration. The description of these two new species takes the number of Indian Hemiphyllodactylus to six and the number of endemic geckos from Tamil Nadu to 15.

}, keywords = {Animals, Genes, Mitochondrial, India, Lizards, Phylogeny, Records}, issn = {1175-5334}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4729.2.6}, author = {Agarwal, Ishan and Bauer, Aaron M and Pal, Saunak and Srikanthan, Achyuthan N and Khandekar, Akshay} } @article {67826, title = {"Endangered or an artifact of unsound taxonomy? Case of the critically~endangered bush frog Philautus sanctisilvaticus Das and Chanda, 1997".}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4683}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Oct 10}, pages = {zootaxa.4683.4.6}, abstract = {

We investigated the phylogenetic relationship of the Critically Endangered bush frog Philautus sanctisilvaticus Das and Chanda, 1997 and other species distributed across the fragmented forests of Deccan Peninsula and the northern Eastern Ghats. A short fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene was employed to assess phylogenetic relationships across Philautus sanctisilvaticus Das and Chanda, 1997, Raorchestes terebrans (Das and Chanda, 1998) and Philautus similipalensis Dutta, 2003. All sequenced specimens, including material from near the type localities of P. sanctisilvaticus (Amarkantak) and P. similipalensis (Simlipal) were genetically extremely similar, with pairwise uncorrected distances 1\% in the 16S gene, and were phylogenetically placed within the genus Raorchestes. The results based on morphology are ambiguous and do not go hand in hand with molecular data, which however do not provide support for a three species hypothesis either. our findings advocate the need for making nomenclatural amendments. Philautus sanctisilvaticus Das and Chanda, 1997, is the first available nomen for this taxon, and we propose to include this species in Raorchestes as Raorchestes sanctisilvaticus (Das and Chanda, 1997), and to consider the nomina Philautus terebrans Das and Chanda, 1998 syn. nov. and Philautus similipalensis Dutta, 2003 syn. nov. as junior subjective synonyms for this nomen following the Principle of Priority in article 23.1 of the ICZN. The findings are notable from the point of conservation of the species and present a novel case with remarkable genetic homogeneity across the fragmented forests of Deccan Peninsula and Eastern Ghats.

}, keywords = {Animals, Anura, Fishes, Phylogeny, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S}, issn = {1175-5334}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4683.4.6}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Warekar, Priya and Mohapatra, Pratyush P and Raju, David and Patil, Pranad and Dutta, Sushil K and Pal, Saunak} } @article {67827, title = {On the systematic status of the genus Oriocalotes G{\"u}nther, 1864~(Squamata: Agamidae: Draconinae) with the description of a new species from Mizoram state, Northeast India.}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4638}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jul 18}, pages = {zootaxa.4638.4.1}, abstract = {

The montane agamid lizard genus Oriocalotes is currently considered monotypic, represented by the species, O. paulus. The systematic status of this taxon has remained questionable since its initial descriptions in the mid-1800s. A detailed molecular and morphological study was carried out to assess the validity of this genus, and its systematic position within the Asian agamid subfamily, Draconinae. Freshly collected and historical museum specimens from the type locality of O. paulus were examined morphologically, along with additional samples collected from localities in Mizoram state, Northeast India. Utilising newly generated molecular sequences (two mitochondrial and three nuclear genes), combined with those previously published for representative genera from the subfamilies Draconinae and Agaminae, Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic trees were constructed. Phylogenetic results suggest that Oriocalotes is part of the widespread South and Southeast Asian radiation of Calotes. Comparative morphological studies (including external morphology, hemipenis and osteology) between Oriocalotes and related genera further support this systematic placement. Oriocalotes is herein regarded as a junior subjective synonym of Calotes. Calotes paulus comb. nov. is also assigned a lectotype and given a detailed redescription based on the lectotype, paralectotypes and additional topotypic material. Furthermore, the specimens collected from Mizoram populations are found to be morphologically and genetically distinct from Calotes paulus comb. nov., and are described herein as a new species, Calotes zolaiking sp. nov.

}, keywords = {Animals, Bayes Theorem, India, Lizards, Osteology, Phylogeny}, issn = {1175-5334}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4638.4.1}, author = {Giri, Varad B and Chaitanya, R and Mahony, Stephen and Lalrounga, Samuel and Lalrinchhana, C and Das, Abhijit and Sarkar, Vivek and Karanth, Praveen and Deepak, V} } @article {36276, title = {The critically endangered forest owlet Heteroglaux blewitti is nested within the currently recognized Athene clade: A century-old debate addressed.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {13}, year = {2018}, month = {2018}, pages = {e0192359}, abstract = {

Range-restricted species generally have specific niche requirements and may often have unique evolutionary histories. Unfortunately, many of these species severely lack basic research, resulting in poor conservation strategies. The phylogenetic relationship of the Critically Endangered Forest Owlet Heteroglaux blewitti has been the subject of a century-old debate. The current classifications based on non-phylogenetic comparisons of morphology place the small owls of Asia into three genera, namely, Athene, Glaucidium, and Heteroglaux. Based on morphological and anatomical data, H. blewitti has been alternatively hypothesized to belong within Athene, Glaucidium, or its own monotypic genus Heteroglaux. To test these competing hypotheses, we sequenced six loci (~4300 bp data) and performed phylogenetic analyses of owlets. Mitochondrial and nuclear trees were not congruent in their placement of H. blewitti. However, both mitochondrial and nuclear combined datasets showed strong statistical support with high maximum likelihood bootstrap (\>/ = 90) and Bayesian posterior probability values (\>/ = 0.98) for H. blewitti being nested in the currently recognized Athene group, but not sister to Indian A. brama. The divergence of H. blewitti from its sister taxa was between 4.3 and 5.7 Ma coinciding with a period of drastic climatic changes in the Indian subcontinent. This study presented the first genetic analysis of H. blewitti, a Critically Endangered species, and addressed the long debate on the relationships of the Athene-Heteroglaux-Glaucidium complex. We recommend further studies with more data and complete taxon sampling to understand the biogeography of Indian Athene species.

}, keywords = {Animals, Bayes Theorem, Conservation of Natural Resources, Endangered Species, Fossils, Phylogeny, Strigiformes}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0192359}, author = {Koparde, Pankaj and Mehta, Prachi and Reddy, Sushma and Ramakrishnan, Uma and Mukherjee, Shomita and Robin, V V} } @article {36275, title = {The curious case of Hemidactylus gujaratensis (Squamata: Gekkonidae).}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4388}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Feb 28}, pages = {137-142}, abstract = {

Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 is one of the most speciose genera of the family Gekkonidae with more than 140 described species (Uetz et al. 2016). While this genus naturally occurs across the tropics and subtropics, a substantial part of its distribution also results from human-mediated dispersal. Carranza Arnold (2006) retrieved five broad clades in a global phylogeny of Hemidactylus, one of which has species distributed in tropical Asia. Subsequent work by Bauer et al. (2010) and Bansal Karanth (2010) revealed that the species from tropical Asia fell into two deeply divergent and potentially non-sister sub-clades-one comprising a large radiation confined to peninsular India and Sri Lanka (the Indian radiation, IR), and the other comprising species largely distributed in Southeast (SE) Asia.

}, keywords = {Animals, India, Lizards, Phylogeny, Sri Lanka}, issn = {1175-5334}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4388.1.11}, author = {Lajmi, Aparna and Datta-Roy, Aniruddha and Vyas, Raju and Agarwal, Ishan and Karanth, Praveen} } @article {26575, title = {Non-sister Sri Lankan white-eyes (genus Zosterops) are a result of independent colonizations.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {12}, year = {2017}, month = {2017}, pages = {e0181441}, abstract = {

Co-occurrence of closely related taxa on islands could be attributed to sympatric speciation or multiple colonization. Sympatric speciation is considered to be rare in small islands, however multiple colonizations are known to be common in both oceanic and continental islands. In this study we investigated the phylogenetic relatedness and means of origin of the two sympatrically co-occurring Zosterops white-eyes, the endemic Zosterops ceylonensis and its widespread regional congener Z. palpebrosus, in the island of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a continental island in the Indian continental shelf of the Northern Indian Ocean. Our multivariate morphometric analyses confirmed the phenotypic distinctness of the two species. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses with ~2000bp from two mitochondrial (ND2 and ND3) and one nuclear (TGF) gene indicated that they are phylogenetically distinct, and not sister to each other. The two subspecies of the peninsula India; Z. p. egregius of Sri Lanka and India and Z. p. nilgiriensis of Western Ghats (India) clustered within the Z. palpebrosus clade having a common ancestor. In contrast, the divergence of the endemic Z. ceylonensis appears to be much deeper and is basal to the other Zosterops white-eyes. Therefore we conclude that the two Zosterops species originated in the island through independent colonizations from different ancestral lineages, and not through island speciation or multiple colonization from the same continental ancestral population. Despite high endemism, Sri Lankan biodiversity is long considered to be a subset of southern India. This study on a speciose group with high dispersal ability and rapid diversification rate provide evidence for the contribution of multiple colonizations in shaping Sri Lanka{\textquoteright}s biodiversity. It also highlights the complex biogeographic patterns of the South Asian region, reflected even in highly vagile groups such as birds.

}, keywords = {Animals, Bayes Theorem, Biodiversity, DNA, Mitochondrial, Evolution, Molecular, Genetic Speciation, Geography, Passeriformes, Phylogeny, Sri Lanka, Sympatry}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0181441}, author = {Wickramasinghe, Nelum and Robin, V V and Ramakrishnan, Uma and Reddy, Sushma and Seneviratne, Sampath S} } @article {893, title = {Cryptic diversity and habitat partitioning in an economically important aphid species complex.}, journal = {Infect Genet Evol}, volume = {30}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Mar}, pages = {230-7}, abstract = {

Cardamom Bushy Dwarf Virus (CBDV) is an aphid-borne nanovirus which infects large cardamom, Amomum subulatum (Zingiberaceae family), in the Himalayan foothills of Northeast India, Nepal and Bhutan. Two aphid species have been reported to transmit CBDV, including Pentalonia nigronervosa and Micromyzus kalimpongensis (also described as Pentalonia kalimpongensis). However, P. nigronervosa was recently split into two species which exhibit different host plant affiliations. Whilst P. nigronervosa primarily feeds on banana plants, Pentaloniacaladii (previously considered a {\textquoteright}form{\textquoteright} of P. nigronervosa) typically feeds on plants belonging to the Araceae, Heliconiaceae and Zingiberaceae families. This raises the possibility that CBDV vectors that were originally described as P. nigronervosa correspond to P. caladii. Accurate identification of vector species is important for understanding disease dynamics and for implementing management strategies. However, closely related species can be difficult to distinguish based on morphological characteristics. In this study, we used molecular markers (two mitochondrial loci and one nuclear locus) and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses to identify aphid specimens collected from 148 CBDV infected plants at a range of locations and elevations throughout Sikkim and the Darjeeling district of West Bengal (Northeast India). Our results revealed the presence of a diversity of lineages, comprising up to six distinct species in at least two related genera. These included the three species mentioned above, an unidentified Pentalonia species and two lineages belonging to an unknown genus. Surprisingly, P. caladii was only detected on a single infected plant, indicating that this species may not play an important role in CBDV transmission dynamics. Distinct elevation distributions were observed for the different species, demonstrating that the community composition of aphids which feed on large cardamom plants changes across an elevation gradient. This has implications for understanding how competent vector species could influence spatial and temporal transmission patterns of CBDV.

}, keywords = {Animals, Aphids, Babuvirus, Ecosystem, Elettaria, India, Insect Vectors, Musa, Phylogeny, Plant Diseases}, issn = {1567-7257}, doi = {10.1016/j.meegid.2014.12.020}, author = {Savory, F R and Ramakrishnan, U} } @article {875, title = {Higher speciation and lower extinction rates influence mammal diversity gradients in Asia.}, journal = {BMC Evol Biol}, volume = {15}, year = {2015}, month = {2015}, pages = {11}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the patterns and correlates of mammal diversity gradients in Asia. In this study, we examine patterns of species distributions and phylogenetic diversity in Asia and investigate if the observed diversity patterns are associated with differences in diversification rates between the tropical and non-tropical regions. We used species distribution maps and phylogenetic trees to generate species and phylogenetic diversity measures for 1{\textdegree} {\texttimes} 1{\textdegree} cells across mainland Asia. We constructed lineage-through-time plots and estimated diversification shift-times to examine the temporal patterns of diversifications across orders. Finally, we tested if the observed gradients in Asia could be associated with geographical differences in diversification rates across the tropical and non-tropical biomes. We estimated speciation, extinction and dispersal rates across these two regions for mammals, both globally and for Asian mammals.

RESULTS: Our results demonstrate strong latitudinal and longitudinal gradients of species and phylogenetic diversity with Southeast Asia and the Himalayas showing highest diversity. Importantly, our results demonstrate that differences in diversification (speciation, extinction and dispersal) rates between the tropical and the non-tropical biomes influence the observed diversity gradients globally and in Asia. For the first time, we demonstrate that Asian tropics act as both cradles and museums of mammalian diversity.

CONCLUSIONS: Temporal and spatial variation in diversification rates across different lineages of mammals is an important correlate of species diversity gradients observed in Asia.

}, keywords = {Animals, Asia, Biodiversity, Genetic Speciation, Mammals, Phylogeny}, issn = {1471-2148}, doi = {10.1186/s12862-015-0289-1}, author = {Tamma, Krishnapriya and Ramakrishnan, Uma} }