. Advances in herpetology and evolutionary biology : essays in honor of Ernest E. Williams. Williams, Ernest E. (Ernest Edward); Herpetology; Evolution. Figure 7. Suggested area of origin (stippled) and later dispersals in lacertoids. Map data as in Figure 3. Dates at end of arrows represent earliest known pre-Pleistocene fossils of the group in that area. Alternative hypothesis discussed in text. + = Late Jurassic ?lacertoids; © = Late Cretaceous polyglyphanodontine teiids. evolved, and primitive cordyloids occur in the Late Jurassic of England, Portugal, and Wyoming. Here in particular the l
. Advances in herpetology and evolutionary biology : essays in honor of Ernest E. Williams. Williams, Ernest E. (Ernest Edward); Herpetology; Evolution. Figure 7. Suggested area of origin (stippled) and later dispersals in lacertoids. Map data as in Figure 3. Dates at end of arrows represent earliest known pre-Pleistocene fossils of the group in that area. Alternative hypothesis discussed in text. + = Late Jurassic ?lacertoids; © = Late Cretaceous polyglyphanodontine teiids. evolved, and primitive cordyloids occur in the Late Jurassic of England, Portugal, and Wyoming. Here in particular the lack of a better African and Asian record makes interpretation difficult. At this stage of knowledge the scincoid radiation seems to have taken place in a different area from that of cordyloids. Perhaps the simplest explanation is to presume that a primitive scincomorph stock had de- veloped in Laurasia before the latest Jurassic. By then, the Tethys Sea was relatively open from the Pacific to at least as far as southern Asia, effectively isolat- ing much of Laurasia and Gondwana. The fluctuating epicontinental seas of the European region could have first caused the lacertid-teiid dichotomy, and then fostered the divergence of western Laurasian populations that became the cordyloids, and eastern populations that evolved into scincoids. The scincoids (Scincidae) are now so diverse and cosmopolitan a group that it is difficult to determine their bio- geographic history. Greer (1970, 1974, 1977) has given some discussion of the matter, but analysis of the primitive eumecoid skinks is still in progress. Moreover, many skinks are well known for their ability to cross water barriers (see , Darlington, 1957) and they have colonized islands extensively. The most primitive scincines are placed in the sub- family Scincinae, which includes Eumeces, probably the most primitive living scincid. This group is most rele- vant to the present discussion of early diversification of lizard fam
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Keywords: ., bookauthorharvarduniver, bookcentury1900, booksubjectherpetology
