About 34 million years ago, Iguana carried out the longest transoconic trip to any terrestrial species, which describes a new study in Fiji, to sail from one-fifth route from North America to one-fifth route worldwide.
Researchers believe that Iguana traveled to 5,000 miles (8,000 km) on a raft made of vegetation, with Fiji shortly after the formation of the islands. “You can imagine some kind of cyclone knocking on trees, where Iguana and maybe they had a group of eggs, and then they grabbed the sea streams and raised,” the lead author Simon scarpettaThe head writer and assistant professor of environment at the University of San Francisco said in a statement.
Fiji’s bright-green lizards are the only iguana outside the Western Hemisphere, and how they got, it is a long-standing mystery. In a new genetic analysis published on Monday (March 17) in the journal ownerResearchers found that Fiji’s Iguana belongs much more closely than before the cousin of his Western Hemisphere, traveling directly from the United States to Fiji to Fiji, about 34 million years ago.
“That they reach Fiji directly from North America, feel crazy,” study co-writer Jimmy mcgierThe professor of biology at the University of California, Berkeley said in a statement. “But alternative models associated with colonization from adjacent land areas do not actually work for the time limit, as we know that they had arrived in Fiji within the last 34 million years.”
Connected: Labord’s chameleon-banging lizard
Previously, some biologists presented the Fizian lizards – which includes genus Brachelophus -landed from an extinct family of Iiguana who once had populated Prashant. Other people have suggested that the lizard could travel a short distance from South America and finally before ending in Pacific.
But these ideas were based on previous genetic analyzes that did not decide how closely Fiji Iguana belonged to other iguanides.
New analysis depends on a genome-wide DNA sequence Scarpta More than 200 iguana samples were collected from museums around the world.
Work revealed Brachelophus Genus is most closely related to lizards in Fiji Dub Genus, which are widespread in the deserts of North America. These deserts are adapted to iguana well heat, so there were customization to avoid potentially long journeys.
“Iguana and desert are resistant to Iguana, especially, starvation and dehydration, so my idea is the process, if there should be any group of vertebrates or any group of lizards, which can actually travel 8,000 kilometers in the Pacific region on a mass of vegetation, then a desert Iguna-Laik Anestor,” said.
Researchers estimate that these lineage are divided about 34 million years ago – almost align with geological history of the formation of islands. “It suggests that as soon as the land appeared, where Fiji lives now, these Iguana may have colonized. Despite the real time of the spread, the incident itself was fantastic,” Skarpetta said.
