BODY MASS EVOLUTION IN THE ANTARCTIC AND SOUTH AMERICAN POLYDOLOPID MARSUPIALS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5710/AMGH.20.01.2025.3628Keywords:
Metatheria, Bergmann's Rule, Cope's Rule, Antarctic Peninsula, PatagoniaAbstract
Polydolopidae (Mammalia, Metatheria) is a Paleogene marsupial clade restricted to southern South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. A quantitative analysis of the distribution of their body masses is conducted to explore potential differences among Antarctic and Patagonian taxa. The results show that there is a clear tendency towards body size increase through time, with a significant phylogenetic signal, which agrees with the Cope's Rule. There is no latitudinal structure in the body size of Patagonian versus Antarctic species and, hence, there is no evidence that the clade followed the Bergmann´´s Rule. The congruent evolutionary history, following the Cope’s Rule, between South America and Antarctic polydolopid species reinforces the idea of a single biogeographic unit composed of Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula (the Austral Kingdom) in Paleogene times.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors publishing in Ameghiniana have the option of making their article freely available online. Authors opting for the Open Access must pay a fee of $300 (US dollars) to cover article-processing costs and to ensure the article is made open access. Please contact the Production Team after the acceptance of your manuscript if you are interested in making your article Open Access. This option implies by default a license Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial-NoDerivs License (CC BY NC ND). If your funding institution requires a different licensing option please communicate this to the Production Team after the acceptance of your manusctipt.
