Author
Listed:
- Fernando Blanco
(University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 7B
Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre
Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science)
- Ignacio A. Lazagabaster
(Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science
Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3
University of Liverpool)
- Óscar Sanisidro
(Universidad de Alcalá, GloCEE)
- Faysal Bibi
(Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science)
- Nicola S. Heckeberg
(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
- María Ríos
(Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica
Museu da Lourinhã, R. João Luís Moura)
- Bastien Mennecart
(Naturhistorisches Museum Basel)
- María Teresa Alberdi
(Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC))
- Jose Luis Prado
(Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Del Valle)
- Juha Saarinen
(University of Helsinki)
- Daniele Silvestro
(University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 7B
Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre
ETH)
- Johannes Müller
(Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science)
- Joaquín Calatayud
(Calle Tulipán s/n
Rey Juan Carlos University)
- Juan L. Cantalapiedra
(Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science
Universidad de Alcalá, GloCEE
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC))
Abstract
The fossil record provides direct evidence for the behavior of biological systems over millions of years, offering a vital source for studying how ecosystems evolved and responded to major environmental changes. Using network analysis on a dataset of over 3000 fossil species spanning the past 60 Myr, we find that ungulate continental assemblages exhibit prolonged ecological stability interrupted by irreversible reorganizations associated with abiotic events. During the early Cenozoic, continental assemblages are dominated by mid-sized browsers with low-crowned teeth, which show increasing functional diversity. Around 21 Ma, the formation of a land bridge between Eurasia and Africa triggers the first major global transition towards a new functional system featuring a prevalence of large browsers with mid- to high-crowned molars. Functional diversity continues to increase, peaking around 10 Ma. Shortly after, aridification and the spread of C4-dominated vegetation lead to a second tipping point towards a fauna characterized by grazers and browsers with high and low crowned teeth. A global decline in ungulate functional diversity begins 10 Ma ago and accelerates around 2.5 Ma, yet the functional structure of these faunas remains stable in the latest Cenozoic. Large mammal evolutionary history reflects two key transitions, aligning with major tectonic and climatic events.
Suggested Citation
Fernando Blanco & Ignacio A. Lazagabaster & Óscar Sanisidro & Faysal Bibi & Nicola S. Heckeberg & María Ríos & Bastien Mennecart & María Teresa Alberdi & Jose Luis Prado & Juha Saarinen & Daniele Silv, 2025.
"Two major ecological shifts shaped 60 million years of ungulate faunal evolution,"
Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
Handle:
RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-59974-x
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59974-x
Download full text from publisher
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-59974-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.