The fossil record of camelids demonstrates a late divergence between Bactrian camel and dromedary

The fossil record of camelids demonstrates a late divergence between Bactrian camel and dromedary

A new compilation of the Old World fossil record of Camelidae and a recent phylogenetic analysis allow a new assessment of the timing of the clade’s diversification. Using a recent implementation of the fossilized birth-death process, we show that the divergence between Bactrian camel and dromedary...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Denis Geraads, Gilles Didier, Andrew Barr, Denne Reed, Michel Laurin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Paleobiology PAS 2020-06-01
Series:Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
Subjects:
mammalia
camelidae
phylogeny
divergence time
fossil record
birth-and-death models
pleistocene
africa
Online Access:http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app65/app007272020.pdf
Description
Summary:A new compilation of the Old World fossil record of Camelidae and a recent phylogenetic analysis allow a new assessment of the timing of the clade’s diversification. Using a recent implementation of the fossilized birth-death process, we show that the divergence between Bactrian camel and dromedary has a peak probability density around 1 Ma and probably occurred less than 2 million years ago. These dates are much younger than molecular estimates, which place the divergence between the dromedary and the Bactrian camel between 4 and 8 million years ago. Calibration problems in molecular dating seem to explain much of this difference.
ISSN:0567-7920
1732-2421

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