Global biogeography and diversification of palms sheds light on the evolution of tropical lineages. I. Historical biogeography

AIM: Palms (Arecaceae/Palmae) are a model group for evolutionary studies in the tropics. Family-wide data on taxonomy, phylogenetics and distribution are now available, but a general framework of palm evolution is still lacking. The overall aim of this study, published in two companion papers, is to seek evolutionary explanations for the geographical distribution of palm lineages and species diversity patterns at global and regional levels. In this first paper we undertake a detailed analysis of palm biogeography for all major lineages in a global context, comparing our results to the fossil record, molecular dating studies and previously established biogeographical hypotheses for the family. LOCATION: Global. METHODS: A dated phylogeny of all palm genera and distributional data were used to infer ancestral areas. A global model of area evolution for tropical lineages was formulated and ancestral areas were reconstructed using a maximum likelihood approach under the dispersal–extinction...