Our paper on the biogeographic origin of Fijian iguanas was published in @PNASNews!
We provide phylogenomic, fossil, and geologic evidence that iguanas rafted over 8000km from North America to Fiji.
Let me know if you’d like a copy!
https://t.co/hlTNiaIRa0
Here is the cutest phylogeny I ever worked on: total-evidence dating and biogeography of hamsters (led by colleagues at Montpellier and Madrid): https://t.co/6pXIXjg5h5
Happy to share our most recent paper on the evolution of iguanian lizards: phylogenomics and biogeography of dragon lizards (agamids)!
New phylogenetic framework for the group, supermatrix timetree, and Laurasian origins
@systbiol@SkinkBen
https://t.co/3Z9Nyq8eQG
Almost as a small Christmas miracle, our second (and final) response to the supposed presence of varanoids in the Triassic: https://t.co/sA6OgOVBjR
With M. Caldwel, @SimonScarpetta, @ChaseBrownstein, D. Meyer, and M. Lee
Today we had @SimonScarpetta from USF delivering a talk here at EEB @Princeton on the technical and empirical challenges in sorting the phylogenomics and biogeography of iguanas...rafting over 8,000 km from North America to Fiji!
In this issue: Speciation and secondary contact in sun skinks, quantification of terrestrial dissolved organic matter in the ocean, and a slick math trick offers a new way to return a rotated object to its original state. In PNAS: https://t.co/XSg0OvW6md
Our latest paper, now on how to conciliate apparently discrepant evolutionary rate patterns in squamates, but which may well apply to any study system with @MCZpaleo and former student Arthur Brum
#macroevolution
https://t.co/i2pUbAmL2L
Important updates on EvoPhylo (release 0.3.5)! https://t.co/VurKJ3rBaa
Nothing like a sleepless night to fix some bugs and add new features. Website with updated articles too: https://t.co/HN3S1gz3KV
Pleased to announce that our second pass analysis of †Cryptovaranoides is out @eLife! In it, we provide more evidence that this taxon is not a squamate, and challenge the referral of isolated bones to the hypodigm
https://t.co/dIH0NEIPgc
#science#paleontology
A recent study suggests that millions of years ago, iguanas in North America hitched a ride on a raft and cruised across the Pacific Ocean to Fiji. Dr. @SimonScarpetta from @usfca joins us to discuss the reptiles’ adventure.
https://t.co/NJ3DYUmSir
New paper with Mike Caldwell, Mike Lee, @LizardManMeyer@paleoTsimoes@SimonScarpetta - in it, we respond to claims that †Cryptovaranoides is a squamate, and show that they are indefensible. https://t.co/MLjFcy5ivx
Are you interested in fossils? Check out this new release from SISP! The Cumberland Bone Cave Local Fauna (CBCLF) is the most significant Irvingtonian vertebrate fauna in the eastern United States north of Florida. https://t.co/W51bgqjt3K
Excellent new paper from @SimonScarpetta and co on the Pleistocene fauna of Maryland!
https://t.co/OsxbgAZc13
Some highlights: high-res photos of †Aenocyon armbrusteri, †Platygonus vetus
This fauna was WEIRD!
Read highlights in this week’s issue of PNAS: We examine how epithelial cells can produce electrical signals, create pockets of audible sound, and study the long-distance origin of Fijian iguanas. https://t.co/fw7xqbcgUZ
Our paper on the origin of Fijian iguanas made the cover of @PNASNews!! This incredible picture was taken by coauthor Robert Fisher at @USGS.
Link to the study:
https://t.co/hlTNiaIRa0
A genetic study sheds light on how iguanas—large terrestrial reptiles—reached Fiji. Phylogenomic analysis suggests Fijian iguanas likely rafted more than 8,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean from North America over 30 million years ago. In PNAS: https://t.co/M6wSGNFBWJ
In this issue: Long-distance origin of Fijian iguanas, grass-fed and industrial beef carbon-intensiveness, and Neolithic pig husbandry in Northwest Europe. https://t.co/zTWDAZfGYW
Happy to share our new preprint: `The rise, decline and fall of clades' with @JyAndreoletti, Daniele Silvestro and @HMorlon , where we study how the biodiversity of clades rise and fall, and the processes behind these patterns. 1/5 https://t.co/adeXIMThkw
Our paper on the biogeographic origin of Fijian iguanas was published in @PNASNews!
We provide phylogenomic, fossil, and geologic evidence that iguanas rafted over 8000km from North America to Fiji.
Let me know if you’d like a copy!
https://t.co/hlTNiaIRa0
🧵 1/ New study on squamate color evolution hits the press: we show that brightness variation in lizards & snakes is strongly linked to habitat openness 🌞 https://t.co/Jxd46s0rkb