Hedges S B, Hass C A, Maxson L R
Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Mar 1;89(5):1909-13. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.5.1909.
The geological association of the Greater Antilles with North and South America in the late Cretaceous led to the hypothesis that the present Antillean biota reflects those ancient land connections. Molecular data from diverse West Indian amphibians and reptiles and their mainland relatives support a more recent derivation of the Antillean vertebrate fauna by overwater dispersal. The catastrophic bolide impact in the Caribbean region at the close of the Cretaceous provides a proximate cause for the absence of an ancient West Indian biota.
大安的列斯群岛在白垩纪晚期与北美洲和南美洲的地质关联引发了一种假说,即现今的安的列斯生物群反映了那些古老的陆地联系。来自不同西印度群岛两栖动物、爬行动物及其大陆亲缘物种的分子数据支持了安的列斯脊椎动物区系通过水上扩散而有更近起源的观点。白垩纪末期加勒比地区的灾难性火流星撞击为古代西印度生物群的缺失提供了一个直接原因。