Plant evolution: pulses of extinction and speciation in gymnosperm diversity

Abstract:

Living gymnosperms represent the survivors of ancient seed plant lineages whose fossil record reaches back 270 million years. Two recent studies find that recent pulses of extinction and speciation have shaped today's gymnosperm diversity, contradicting the widespread assumption that gymnosperms have remained largely unchanged for tens of millions of years.

Notes:

Davis, Charles CSchaefer, HannoengEngland2011/12/24 06:00Curr Biol. 2011 Dec 20;21(24):R995-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.11.020.