@article {1982, title = {Evolutionary biogeography of the centipede genus Ethmostigmus from Peninsular India: testing an ancient vicariance hypothesis for Old World tropical diversity}, journal = {BMC Evolutionary Biology}, volume = {19}, year = {2019}, month = {14/02/2019}, pages = {1-10}, abstract = {

Background: Understanding the relative influence of vicariance and dispersal in shaping Old World tropical biodiversity remains a challenge. We aimed to infer the roles of these alternative biogeographic processes using a species time-tree for the centipede genus Ethmostigmus from the Old World tropics. Additionally, we explored fine-scale biogeographic patterns for an endemic radiation of Ethmostigmus from the peninsular Indian Plate (PIP), an area with complex geological and climatic history.

Results: Divergence time estimates suggest that Ethmostigmus began diversifying in the Late Cretaceous, 99 (\± 25) million years ago (Ma), its early biogeographic history shaped by vicariance. Members of Ethmostigmus in PIP form a monophyletic group that underwent endemic radiation in the Late Cretaceous, 72 (\± 25) Ma. In contrast, a new species of Ethmostigmus from north-east India formed a clade with African/Australian species. Fine-scale biogeographic analyses in PIP predict that Indian Ethmostigmus had an ancestor in southern-central parts of the Western Ghats. This was followed by four independent dispersal events from the southern-central Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats, and between different parts of the Western Ghats in the Cenozoic.

Conclusions: Our results are consistent with Gondwanan break-up driving the early evolutionary history of the genus Ethmostigmus. Multiple dispersal events coinciding with geo-climatic events throughout the Cenozoic shaped diversification in PIP. Ethmostigmus species in PIP are restricted to wet forests and have retained that niche throughout their diversification.

Publication date remarks: The article was first published on 01/02/2019. The chosen publication date in Myriatrix is 14/02/2019, when a correction was issued and the original article updated.

}, keywords = {Gondwana biogeography, Palaeoclimate, Scolopendridae, Western and eastern Ghats}, issn = {1471-2148}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-019-1367-6}, url = {https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-019-1367-6}, author = {Joshi, Jahnavi and Edgecombe, Gregory D.} }