Divergence times and the evolution of epiphytism in filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae) revisited
Abstract
Although the phylogeny of the filmy fern family (Hymenophyllaceae) is rapidly coming
into focus, much remains to be uncovered concerning the evolutionary history of this
clade. In this study, we use two data sets (108-taxon rbcL+ rps4, 204-taxon rbcL)
and fossil constraints to examine the diversification of filmy ferns and the evolution
of their ecology within a temporal context. Our penalized likelihood analyses (with
both data sets) indicate that the initial divergences within the Hymenophyllaceae
(resulting in extant lineages) and those within one of the two major clades (trichomanoids)
occurred in the early to middle Mesozoic. There was a considerable delay in the crown
group diversification of the other major clade (hymenophylloids), which began to diversify
only in the Cretaceous. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian character state reconstructions
across the broadly sampled single-gene (rbcL) phylogeny do not allow us to unequivocally
infer the ancestral habit for the family or for its two major clades. However, adding
a second gene (rps4) with a more restricted taxon sampling results in a hypothesis
in which filmy ferns were ancestrally terrestrial, with epiphytism having evolved
several times independently during the Cretaceous. © 2008 by The University of Chicago.
All rights reserved.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & Biomedicine
Plant Sciences
divergence time estimates
diversification
ecological evolution
epiphytism
ferns
GENUS TRICHOMANES HYMENOPHYLLACEAE
RBCL NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCES
PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS
SEED PLANTS
MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS
S.L. HYMENOPHYLLACEAE
L. HYMENOPHYLLACEAE
ABSOLUTE RATES
GENES
FILICOPSIDA
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21808Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1086/591983Publication Info
Hennequin, S; Schuettpelz, E; Pryer, KM; Ebihara, A; & Dubuisson, J (2008). Divergence times and the evolution of epiphytism in filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae)
revisited. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 169(9). pp. 1278-1287. 10.1086/591983. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21808.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Kathleen M. Pryer
Professor of Biology

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