Data from: Mass turnover and recovery dynamics of a diverse Australian continental radiation

Trends in global and local climate history have been linked to observed macroevolutionary patterns across a variety of organisms. These climatic pressures may unilaterally or asymmetrically influence the evolutionary trajectory of clades. To test and compare signature of changing global (Eocene-Oligocene boundary cooling) and continental (Miocene aridification) environments on a continental fauna, we investigated the macroevolutionary dynamics of one of Australia’s most diverse endemic radiations, pygopodoid geckos. We generated a time-calibrated phylogeny (>90% taxon coverage) to test whether (i) asymmetrical pygopodoid tree shape may be the result of mass turnover deep in the group’s history, and (ii) how Miocene aridification shaped trends in biome assemblages. We find evidence of mass turnover in pygopodoids following the isolation of the Australian continental plate ~30 million years ago, and in contrast, gradual aridification is linked to elevated speciation rates in the young arid zone. Surprisingly, our results suggest that invasion of arid habitats was not an evolutionary end point. Instead, arid Australia has acted as a source for diversity, with repeated outward dispersals having facilitated diversification of this group. This pattern contrasts trends in richness and distribution of other Australian vertebrates, illustrating the profound effects historical biome changes have on macroevolutionary patterns.全球及局地气候历史的演变趋势，已被证实与各类生物的宏观进化（macroevolution）模式存在关联。此类气候压力可能以单向或不对称的方式影响各进化支系（clade）的演化轨迹。为检验并对比全球环境变化（始新世-渐新世界线降温，Eocene-Oligocene boundary cooling）与大陆环境变化（中新世干旱化，Miocene aridification）对大陆动物区系的影响信号，我们针对澳大利亚多样性最高的特有辐射演化类群之一——鳞脚蜥类壁虎（pygopodoid geckos）的宏观进化动力学展开了研究。我们构建了一棵类群覆盖度超过90%的时间校准系统发育树（time-calibrated phylogeny），以验证两个假说：其一，鳞脚蜥类壁虎不对称的系统发育树结构，是否源于该类群演化早期发生的大规模更替事件；其二，中新世干旱化如何塑造了生物群系组合的演变趋势。我们发现，在澳大利亚大陆板块于约3000万年前孤立之后，鳞脚蜥类壁虎曾经历大规模更替事件；与之形成对比的是，逐步加剧的干旱化与该年轻干旱区内升高的物种形成速率密切相关。令人意外的是，我们的研究结果显示，入侵干旱生境并非该类群的演化终点。相反，干旱化的澳大利亚曾作为多样性的源区，通过反复的向外扩散事件推动了该类群的物种分化。这一模式与其他澳大利亚脊椎动物的物种丰富度及分布趋势形成鲜明对比，彰显了历史生物群系变化对宏观进化模式的深远影响。