Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel.
The Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Mt Massada, Tamar Regional Council, Israel.
Ann Bot. 2018 Jan 25;121(1):1-8. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcx109.
Angiosperms are the most species-rich group of land plants, but their origins and fast and intense diversification still require an explanation.
Extending research scopes can broaden theoretical frameworks and lines of evidence that can lead to solving this 'abominable mystery'. Solutions lie in understanding evolutionary trends across taxa and throughout the Phanerozoic, and integration between hypotheses and ideas that are derived from multiple disciplines.
Descriptions of evolutionary chronologies should integrate between molecular phylogenies, descriptive palaeontology and palaeoecology. New molecular chronologies open new avenues of research of possible Palaeozoic angiosperm ancestors and how they evolved during as many as 200Myr until the emergence of true angiosperms. The idea that 'biodiversity creates biodiversity' requires evidence from past and present ecologies, with changes in herbivory and resource availability throughout the Phanerozoic appearing to be particularly promising.
Promoting our understanding of angiosperm origins and diversification in particular, and the evolution of biodiversity in general, requires more profound understanding of the ecological past through integrating taxonomic, temporal and ecological scopes.
被子植物是陆地植物中物种最丰富的类群，但它们的起源和快速而激烈的多样化仍需要解释。
扩展研究范围可以拓宽理论框架和证据线索，从而有助于解决这个“可恶的谜团”。解决方案在于了解跨分类群和整个显生宙的进化趋势，以及来自多个学科的假说和思想的整合。
进化年代表的描述应整合分子系统发育、描述古生物学和古生态学。新的分子年代表为研究古生代可能的被子植物祖先以及它们在多达 2 亿年的时间里是如何进化的开辟了新的途径，直到真正的被子植物出现。“生物多样性创造生物多样性”的观点需要来自过去和现在生态的证据，显生宙期间食草动物和资源可利用性的变化似乎特别有希望。
要促进我们对被子植物起源和多样化的理解，特别是对生物多样性进化的理解，需要通过整合分类学、时间和生态学范围来更深入地了解生态的过去。
