Amazonian biodiversity much older than originally thought

[Judi Lynn]

Amazonian biodiversity much older than originally thought
November 29, 2010

http://cdn.physorg.com.nyud.net:8090/newman/gfx/news/hires/1-amazonianbio.jpg

This is Pauji-yuyo in Bolivia. Credit: University of Gothenburg

Amazonia's huge biodiversity originated with the formation of the Andes and, as such, dates back further than previously realised, claims an article written by an international research group, headed by a researcher from the University of Gothenburg, published in the journal Science.

"With the results we present in this article, we've rewritten the entire history of Amazonia in terms of the development of its biodiversity," says Alexandre Antonelli from the University of Gothenburg's Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, and scientific curator at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden (Sweden).

Amazonia's wealth of species is by far the greatest in the world. Although researchers have long suspected that the diversity of the Amazonian rainforest was affected by the Andes, the causal links have been unclear until now, and there have been a wide range of scientific theories on the origins of the species found there.

A team of researchers led by Antonelli and the University of Amsterdam's Carina Hoorn has now compared the pattern of today's biodiversity in Amazonia with geological and molecular data for the last 65 million years – ever since the South American continent separated from Africa and the dinosaurs became extinct.

More:
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-amazonian-biodiversity-older-thought.html

[xchrom]

1. very interesting. nt