Staggl Manuel Andreas, De Gracia Carlos, López-Romero Faviel A, Stumpf Sebastian, Villalobos-Segura Eduardo, Benton Michael J, Kriwet Jürgen
Department of Palaeontology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE), University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
Biology (Basel). 2025 Jan 30;14(2):142. doi: 10.3390/biology14020142.
The modern diversity of sharks, skates, and rays (Neoselachii) is the result of various diversification and extinction events during the Mesozoic (252-66 Ma). However, the key drivers of their diversity patterns remain poorly understood despite all the progress that has been accomplished in recent years. Here, we show that the interplay of climatic- and tectonic-linked trajectories, resulting in a high shallow marine habitat availability and lower atmospheric CO concentration, were significant drivers and sustainers of Mesozoic neoselachian diversity. We show, for the first time, that higher atmospheric CO content negatively affected neoselachian diversity in the past. The recognized gradual faunal changes throughout the Mesozoic and the two major diversification events during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, respectively, ultimately cumulated in an all-time diversity high in the Palaeogene despite the events during the end-Cretaceous extinction event, highlighting their remarkable resilience and adaptability despite severe environmental challenges. We thus provide novel perspectives on the processes underlying neoselachian diversification since the Mesozoic that contribute importantly to a better understanding of the selective forces that have shaped the long-term evolution and diversification of neoselachians. Given their vital role in modern ecosystems, our results provide information about possible future trends in the face of the current climate crisis.
现代鲨鱼、鳐鱼和魟鱼（新鲨类）的多样性是中生代（2.52亿至6600万年前）各种多样化和灭绝事件的结果。然而，尽管近年来取得了诸多进展，但它们多样性模式的关键驱动因素仍知之甚少。在此，我们表明，与气候和构造相关的轨迹相互作用，导致浅海栖息地可用性高且大气二氧化碳浓度较低，是中生代新鲨类多样性的重要驱动因素和维持因素。我们首次表明，过去较高的大气二氧化碳含量对新鲨类多样性产生了负面影响。整个中生代公认的逐渐的动物群变化，以及分别在侏罗纪和白垩纪发生的两次主要多样化事件，尽管在白垩纪末灭绝事件期间发生了一些事件，但最终在古近纪积累达到了前所未有的多样性高峰，突出了它们尽管面临严峻环境挑战仍具有显著的恢复力和适应性。因此，我们提供了关于自中生代以来新鲨类多样化过程的新观点，这有助于更好地理解塑造新鲨类长期进化和多样化的选择力量。鉴于它们在现代生态系统中的重要作用，我们的结果提供了有关面对当前气候危机时可能的未来趋势的信息。
