Phylogenetic Insights on Evolutionary Novelties in Lizards and Snakes: Sex, Birth, Bodies, Niches, and Venom

• Published in: Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics evolution, and systematics, 2011-01, Vol.42 (1), p.227-244
• Main Authors: Sites, Jack W, Reeder, Tod W, Wiens, John J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological evolution; Biological taxonomies; body form; diet; Evolution; Evolutionary biology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Herbivory; Lizards; Morphology; Parthenogenesis; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Reptiles; Reptiles & amphibians; Reptilia. Amphibia; Snakes; Squamata; Taxonomy; Venoms; Vertebrata; Vertebrates; viviparity
• ISSN: 1543-592X; 1545-2069
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102710-145051

Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) are a diverse clade in which there appear to have been multiple origins of many remarkable traits, including ( a ) parthenogenetic reproduction, ( b ) viviparity, ( c ) snake-like, limb-reduced body form, ( d ) herbivory, and ( e ) venom. These repeated transitions make squamates an outstanding excellent system for addressing many fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. For example, they are the only vertebrate group with true parthenogenesis (with at least 40 separate origins), they have more origins of viviparity than any other group of vertebrates, and they have undergone dramatic changes in body form (lizard-like to snake-like) dozens of times. New molecular phylogenies for squamates have overturned many traditional hypotheses and taxonomies based on morphology and are now revealing exciting new insights into the evolution of many of these traits at both higher and lower taxonomic levels. In this review, we summarize many of these new insights and outline important areas for future research.