Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Pages: 2684-

Journal: Scientific Reports

Volume number: 12

Issue number: 1

ISSN: 2045-2322

Open access status: Gold

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06557-1

Publisher: Nature Research

Abstract: 
The Mesozoic rise of the European freshwater gastropod fauna is still poorly understood. Compared to the well documented Cenozoic history, little is known about the patterns and processes underlying the early diversification preceding their extinction crisis at the K-Pg boundary. We assess what is probably a first pulse of diversification of the Cenozoic-type fauna in the Late Cretaceous along with the potential abiotic and biotic controls for shifts in species diversification. We find strong support that the increase in the speciation rate in the Santonian (similar to 85 Myr ago) is linked to a global sea level rise, which caused extensive flooding of continental areas and the formation of vast brackish-water ecosystems. The following decline of the speciation rate coincides with a rise in diversity and reflects increasing interspecific competition. The peak in the speciation rate postdates the Cenomanian-Turonian Thermal Maximum, which probably limited the potential for diversification among freshwater gastropods due to ecological constraints. The peak coincides moreover with the end phase of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, which sparked the radiation of angiosperms. The expansion and diversification of flowering plants, being an important food source for freshwater gastropods today, could have formed a necessary basis for gastropod diversification.

Harvard Citation style: Neubauer, T. and Harzhauser, M. (2022) Onset of Late Cretaceous diversification in Europe's freshwater gastropod fauna links to global climatic and biotic events, Scientific Reports, 12(1), p. 2684. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06557-1

APA Citation style: Neubauer, T., & Harzhauser, M. (2022). Onset of Late Cretaceous diversification in Europe's freshwater gastropod fauna links to global climatic and biotic events. Scientific Reports. 12(1), 2684. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06557-1