Background Adaptive radiation, the evolution of ecological and phenotypic diversity from a
common ancestor, is a central concept in evolutionary biology and characterizes the …

Forgotten Grasslands of the South is a literary and scientific case study of some of the
biologically richest and most endangered ecosystems in North America. Eminent ecologist …

The haplochromine cichlid fish of the East African Great Lakes represent some of the fastest
and most species-rich adaptive radiations known, but rivers in most of Africa accommodate …

The extant venomous Gila monster and beaded lizards, species of Heloderma, live today in
southwestern USA and south along the Pacific coastal region into Central America, but their …

Nearly 70% of the 535 species of salamanders in the world are members of a single family,
the Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders. The centre of diversity for this clade is North …

Premise of research. Passifloroideae (more than 700 species), which include the large
genus Passiflora (more than 550 species), are distributed pantropically today. The fossil …

The present study deals with new material of carnivorans (Mustelidae, Mephitidae, Ailuridae,
Potamotheriinae and Viverridae) from the basal Tortonian (Late Miocene, late Astaracian) …

The “false thumb” of pandas is a carpal bone, the radial sesamoid, which has been enlarged
and functions as an opposable thumb. If the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the …

Mesoamerica is famous for its complex biota assembled from diverse sources. The recent
discovery of a highly distinct freshwater catfish, Lacantunia enigmatica (Lacantuniidae), in …

Studies of large herbivorous mammal (ungulate) communities have revealed an association
between increased tooth crown height (hypsodonty) and a shift to more arid environments …