An evolutionary ‘big explosion’ explains why snakes come to such strange varieties

An evolutionary ‘big explosion’ explains why snakes come to such strange varieties

By Jack Tamiea Edited by Andrea Thompson

More than 100 million years ago, when they first developed from the lizards, snakes were ecological lice players sliding around the eaves of ecosystems dominated by dinosaurs. Today, however, there are about 4,000 snake species from green anacondas, which are heavier than adult gorillas. Some of the most influential and various predators in the world. “Snakes are really extraordinary, Dan said Daniel Rabosky, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan.

Snakes were the only people from about 25 lizard groups who lost their legs independently. A new study published this week Science Explains why: genomic data revealed this Snakes experienced an adaptation boom about 125 million years ago– In evolutionary dates – helping them to benefit from multiple ecological gaps. “Snakes are an evolutionary ‘singularity’ at the University of Australia, but not interested in new research, but are not interested in new research, but are not interested in new research.

Rabosky and a team of researchers built a depth of evolutionary tree to determine what separates snakes from the groups of legsless lizards. They shaped their branches using genomic data of more than 1000 squamate types (the sequence of reptiles containing snakes and lizards) to draw how these scaly creatures change over time. Finally, they supported this data set with dietary information from approximately 70,000 individual lizards and snakes, primarily examples of alcohol in museum collections.

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The results apparently showed an early adaptation boom connected to the development of special features. These features include chemoreceptive structures that help snakes to skillfully detect their prey using smell and heat and flexible jaws that help swallow large -sized meals. Some snakes developed a deadly poison to hunt larger prey.

The new article does not focus on a limb that leads to the success of a particular feature. Lee says that the features that probably help them hit evolutionary bonuses are an interaction. “Snakes are successful due to multiple adaptation synergy [such as] Long bodies, contraction, poison, flexible skulls, Lee Lee says. Many legless lizards have one or two of these snake characteristics, but it was almost not so successful. ”A group of lizards with a long body and a flexible skull refers to, but it never varies more than a handful of species.

Rabosky acknowledges that the adoption of a series of special features is probably helping to charge the super -charging of snake evolution. Based on the evolution tree of the study, snakes seem to have developed about three times faster than lizards. “The rate of developing new features and developing new diet types of snakes was essentially over speed, Rab said Rabosky. “While the snakes are on a bullet train, the lizards wander on the moped.”

Such rapid evolution, probably after 66 million years ago, has allowed snakes to take advantage of more ecological gaps than lizard after the mass extinction. This versatility is still reflected in the diet of snakes today. Most living lizards depend on insects or other small arthropods; Snakes are often much more adventurous and will hunt animals ranging from rodents and birds to gangbrux and crocodiles.

Although snakes have developed various tastes collectively, many species have specialized to target certain hunting. These include rowing -nosed snake species and paddles of sea snake species such as paddlelike and reef fish. Other species swallow bird eggs. Some even consume harmful food that several other species dare to eat. Most lizards are much less specialized and eat everything that is small enough to fit into the mouth of the invertebrates.

Rabosky and his common writers describe the evolutionary innovation explosion that initiated his snake evolution as “macroevrimal singularity .. Like an evolutionary major explosion, these rare events occur when a group of organisms are rapidly diversified to various new species in the way of opening and closing according to geological standards. The sudden explosion of blooming plant diversity during the time of Kretase is another example of this phenomenon that Charles Darwin calls “disgusting mystery ..

“How these great evolution bursts are important for the history of life in the world, Rab said Rabosky.