Claim · model-written summary
Distribution patterns and molecular data support a hypothesis that alpine buttercups originated from lowland ancestors of the same geographical region.
- Taxon
- alpine buttercups
Ranunculus adoneuse0 - Outcome
- origin of alpine buttercupse0
- Qualifier
- from lowland ancestors of the same geographical regione0
Verbatim
e0“Present distribution patterns and molecular data support a hypothesis of an origin of alpine buttercups from lowland ancestors of the same geographical region”
Title
Ovidiu Paun; Carlos Lehnebach; Jan T. Johansson; et al. Taxon 2005. doi:10.2307/25065478
Other claims from this paper (15)
- Observation Combined and separate analyses yielded a large core clade of Ranunculus excluding Ficaria, Coptidium and extra-European genera.
- Observation The Ceratocephala-Myosurus clade is sister to the core Ranunculus in the plastid and combined datasets.
- Observation Within Ranunculus s.s., eight well supported clades correspond to widespread ecological groups or to regional geographical groups.
- Observation Alpine Mediterranean buttercups belong to orophytic clades, most species of which also occur in the European alpine system.
- Observation Only one Mediterranean clade is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula and adjacent regions.
- Mechanism At lower altitudes, therophytes and geophytes evolved multiple times, suggesting parallel adaptations to the Mediterranean climate.
- Observation Geophytes differentiated into an eastern and a western Mediterranean group.
- Observation The split of allied genera from Ranunculus s.s. occurred during the Eocene and Oligocene.
- Observation The core clade of Ranunculus is about 24.0 Myr old.
- Observation Diversification of Ranunculus s.s. into main ecological/geographical clades took place in the late Miocene.
- Observation Speciation within the Mediterranean groups took place during the Pliocene and Pleistocene.
- Observation Diversification of life forms at lower altitudes occurred mainly during or after the establishment of the Mediterranean climate.
- Observation Island endemics of Macaronesia and Crete are probably rather young descendants of neighbouring geographical groups.
- Association Diversification of alpine groups took place at different geological times but is generally correlated with periods of colder climate.
- Mechanism The high diversity of buttercups is likely a consequence of the broad spectrum of habitats in the Mediterranean region.