dragons paradise lost palaeobiogeography, evolution and extinction of the largest-ever terrestrial lizards (varanidae)龙的失乐园古生物地理学,进化和灭绝的最大陆地蜥蜴(巨蜥科).pdfVIP

Dragon’s Paradise Lost: Palaeobiogeography, Evolution and Extinction of the Largest-Ever Terrestrial Lizards (Varanidae) 1 2 3 4 3 Scott A. Hocknull *, Philip J. Piper , Gert D. van den Bergh , Rokus Awe Due , Michael J. Morwood , Iwan Kurniawan5 1 Geosciences, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 2 Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines, 3 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, 4 Indonesian Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia, 5 Geological Survey of Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia Abstract Background: The largest living lizard species, Varanus komodoensis Ouwens 1912, is vulnerable to extinction, being restricted to a few isolated islands in eastern Indonesia, between Java and Australia, where it is the dominant terrestrial carnivore. Understanding how large-bodied varanids responded to past environmental change underpins long-term management of V. komodoensis populations. Methodology/Principal Findings: We reconstruct the palaeobiogeography of Neogene giant varanids and identify a new (unnamed) species from the island of Timor. Our data reject the long-held perception that V. komodoensis became a giant because of insular evolution or as a specialist hunter of pygmy Stegodon. Phyletic giantism, coupled with a westward dispersal from mainland Australia, provides the most parsimonious explanation for the palaeodistribution of V. komodoensis and the newly identified species of giant varanid from Timor. Pliocene giant varanid fossils from Australia are morphologic