A Brief History of South American Metatherians: Evolutionary Contexts and Intercontinental Dispersals (Springer Earth System Sciences)

This book summarizes major aspects of the evolution of South American metatherians, including their epistemologic, phylogenetic, biogeographic, faunal, tectonic, paleoclimatic, and metabolic contexts. A brief overview of the evolution of each major South American lineage ("Ameridelphia", Sparassodonta, Didelphimorphia, Paucituberculata, Microbiotheria, and Polydolopimorphia) is provided. It is argued that due to physiological constraints, metatherian evolution closely followed the conditions imposed by global temperatures. In general terms, during the Paleocene and the early Eocene multiple radiations of metatherian lineages occurred, with many adaptive types exploiting insectivorous, frugivorous, and omnivorous adaptive zones. In turn, a mixture of generalized and specialized types, the latter mainly exploiting carnivorous and granivorous-folivorous adaptive zones, characterized the second half of the Cenozoic. In both periods, climate was the critical driver of their radiation and turnovers. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-35 South American Living Metatherians: Physiological Ecology and Constraints....Pages 37-75 Dispersal of Vertebrates from Between the Americas, Antarctica, and Australia in the Late Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic....Pages 77-124 Evolutionary Contexts....Pages 125-154 Phylogeny and Diversity of South American Metatherians....Pages 155-183 Paleobiology and Adaptations of Paleogene Metatherians....Pages 185-208 Summary: Milestones in the Evolution of South American Metatherians....Pages 209-225 Back Matter....Pages 227-237