BMC ecology and evolution最新文献

{"title":"Retraction Note: MtDNA structure: the women who formed the Brazilian Northeast.","authors":"Ana Paula Schaan, Lorenna Costa, Diego Santos, Antonio Modesto, Marcos Amador, Camile Lopes, Sílvia Helena Rabenhorst, Raquel Montenegro, Bruno D A Souza, Thayson Lopes, France Keiko Yoshioka, Giovanny Pinto, Vivian Silbiger, Ândrea Ribeiro-Dos-Santos","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02427-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02427-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"73"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12302867/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144736008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Concatenation fails to describe the anomalous radiation of giant cockroaches (Blattodea: Blaberidae) despite moderate to low discordance.","authors":"Dominic A Evangelista, Michael A Gilchrist, Frédéric Legendre, Brian O'Meara","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02409-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02409-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patterns of discordance between gene trees and the species trees they reside in are crucial to the coalescent vs. concatenation debate and may be key to resolving rapid radiations. However, errors in gene trees complicate the issue as topological errors can cause gene trees to appear erroneously discordant with the species tree. In this study, we evaluate the prevalence of discordance between gene trees and their species tree using an empirical dataset for a clade with a rapid radiation (Blaberidae). One key advance of our study is the use of complex, computationally intensive, selection-based codon models (FMutSel0 and SelAC) to identify the maximum likelihood gene tree. Our main hypothesis predicted that, if there are two competing topologies for a particular gene tree, then the one that is less discordant with the species tree will have less systematic error.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our experimental framework failed to show evidence for this, but only when discordance was measured in reference to a concatenation topology. In follow-up tests we see that the best candidate gene set yielded a coalescent species tree that was less discordant with gene trees.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We conclude from these tests that, although the frequency of discordance is on the low end of what is predicted by a range of modelling strategies, it is still extremely common overall and must be accounted for in order to achieve a biologically realistic outcome. These results allow us to support other relationships among blaberid cockroaches that were previously in flux as they now demonstrate molecular and morphological congruence. We suggest a few key improvements to the Blaberidae phylogeny, including identification of an anomaly zone spanning 10 backbone nodes and 6 additional nodes.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"72"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12278584/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144683812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolutionary insights into Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase-mediated toxin resistance in the Crested Serpent-eagle preying on introduced cane toads in Okinawa, Japan.","authors":"Alisa Tobe, Yu Sato, Mitsuki Kondo, Manabu Onuma, Miho Inoue-Murayama","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02412-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02412-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Prey species often develop toxic chemical defenses against predators, prompting predators to evolve traits that counteract these toxins. A prime example of this evolutionary arms race involves resistance to lethal cardiotonic steroids, which is associated with specific amino acid mutations in the α-subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase (ATP1A) across diverse predator species. The Japanese Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus), which is endemic to the adjacent islands of Ishigaki and Iriomote in Okinawa, provides an intriguing example of this convergent evolution. This eagle preys on cane toads (Rhinella marina), an invasive species anthropogenically introduced only to Ishigaki Island, which defends itself by secreting cardiotonic steroids. Notably, no native prey species of the Crested Serpent-eagle on Ishigaki or Iriomote Island secrete cardiotonic steroids as a defense mechanism. To investigate the genetic and evolutionary background of potential toxin resistance in this eagle, we analyzed the genetic population structure and ATP1A gene sequences from individuals on Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands, as well as from the subspecies population on Simeulue Island, Indonesia. Whole-genome analysis revealed significant genetic isolation among the three island populations. However, the amino acid sequences of ATP1A paralogs were identical across all populations. Notably, the Q111E amino acid mutation in ATP1A1, which is associated with toxin resistance in other species, was detected in this eagle. A comparative analysis of ATP1A amino acid sequences across nine raptor species revealed that the Crested Serpent-eagle and Black-chested Snake Eagle (Circaetus pectoralis), both of which belong to the subfamily Circaetinae, share similar sequences that are distinct from those of other raptors. These findings indicate that possible lineage-specific adaptations in ATP1A provide the Crested Serpent-eagle with resistance to cardiotonic steroids. The conservation of this adaptive gene within species might have origins unrelated to the recent distribution of cardiotonic steroid-secreting prey but has coincidentally enabled the Crested Serpent-eagle on Ishigaki Island to prey on invasive species introduced by humans.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"70"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12257717/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144638886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elusive origin of mitochondria shared by two sister species of Eurema butterflies.","authors":"Mai Miyata, Masashi Nomura, Daisuke Kageyama","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02414-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02414-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Wolbachia are maternally inherited arthropod endosymbionts known for their diverse effects on host reproduction, which serve to increase their prevalence in host populations. As Wolbachia spreads, the frequency of the associated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes tends to increase within the host population. Two distinct Wolbachia strains, wCI and wFem, are shared by two pierid butterfly sister species: Eurema mandarina and Eurema hecabe. The congruence of mtDNA phylogeny and Wolbachia infection status suggests hybrid introgression of mtDNA from E. hecabe to E. mandarina. This inference is based on the observation that uninfected E. mandarina have unique mtDNA haplotypes, distinct from the mtDNA haplotypes found in Wolbachia-infected E. mandarina and E. hecabe. In E. hecabe, Wolbachia infection has been considered fixed, with no expectation of uninfected individuals.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Unexpectedly, Wolbachia-free E. hecabe individuals were discovered on the Yonaguni Island of Japan. We included these individuals in the phylogenetic analyses to reassess the impact of Wolbachia infection on Eurema butterflies. The nuclear Triosephosphate isomerase gene-based phylogenetic tree formed two discrete clades corresponding to E. mandarina and E. hecabe. Contrastingly, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene-based tree consisted of three clades, Wolbachia-free E. mandarina, Wolbachia-free E. hecabe, and a clade consisting of Wolbachia-infected E. mandarina and E. hecabe, as well as two other Eurema species, Eurema ada and Eurema lacteola.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings indicate that the mitochondria shared by E. mandarina and E. hecabe likely originate from a different species of Eurema (E. ada, E. lacteola, or others). Although the origin was not identified, our results indicate that Wolbachia provides significant evolutionary advantages to the associated mtDNA haplotypes across multiple Eurema species, leading to a complex mtDNA phylogeny.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"71"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12257835/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144638885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Body mass evolution as a driver of morphological and ecological diversity in terrestrial mammals.","authors":"Priscila S Rothier, Anthony Herrel, Roger B J Benson, Brandon P Hedrick","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02393-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02393-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Body mass plays a fundamental role in the macroevolutionary dynamics of morphological, ecological, and phylogenetic diversification. Given biomechanical principles, large body masses in terrestrial vertebrates may impose important constraints on the adaptative potential of skeletal morphology. This is especially true for the limbs, which are involved in both supporting and propelling the body during locomotion. We present a novel framework for evaluating how body mass structures patterns of morphological, ecological, and phylogenetic diversification using a dataset of forelimb traits for more than 600 terrestrial mammal species. We found that forelimb shape disparity increases with body mass for mammals generally as well as within mammalian subclades, suggesting that this trend is robust to phylogenetic scale. However, both phylogenetic and locomotor diversity (a proxy for ecological diversity) were high for all except the largest mammals and were not strongly associated with body mass. This suggests that small mammals are capable of speciating widely and evolving novel locomotor modes without requiring drastic changes to forelimb shape. However, as body mass increases, biomechanical constraints require substantial morphological changes to the forelimb to adapt to similar levels of locomotor mode disparity. We also show that different limb bone elements do not respond in the same way to increases in body mass when analyzed individually, perhaps due to differing developmental constraints. We provide new insights on how body mass structures macroevolutionary processes in mammals, and our approach can be generalized to examine this question for a variety of traits, ecological modes, and phylogenetic groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"69"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12247252/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144621570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Future habitat dynamics of critically endangered endemic plants in the St. Catherine protected area, South Sinai, Egypt: climate change perspectives on mountain ecosystems.","authors":"K Omar, A Mohamed, M Shaltout, I Elgamal, L M Bidak","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02408-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02408-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Mountain ecosystems provide crucial insights into species distribution, yet their fragility, especially in the warming Mediterranean, puts many species at high extinction risk. This study, focusing on four critically endangered plants in Egypt's St. Catherine Protected Area (Primula boveana, Rosa arabica, Micromeria serbaliana, and Silene oreosinaica), uses Species Distribution Models (MaxEnt) and the IUCN Red List to assess climate change impacts and enhance future conservation strategies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Field observations from 2024 to 2025 revealed changes in Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and Area of Occupancy (AOO) when compared to historical records. EOO increased for all species: P. boveana (72.8 km², + 280%), R. arabica (102 km², + 117%), M. serbaliana (88.5 km², + 30%), and S. oreosinaica (61 km², + 15%) as discovery of new and rehabilitated sites. This reclassified R. arabica from Critically Endangered (CR) to Endangered (EN), although the other species remain CR. Despite these geographical increases, both human and natural threats continue to cause declines in individual numbers and habitat quality. High predictive model accuracy was recorded (AUC ≥ 0.97, TSS ≥ 0.85). Under current conditions, P. boveana and R. arabica exhibit wider potential distributions (11.3% and 12.1% of the total area, respectively) than M. serbaliana (5.2%) and S. oreosinaica (5.4%). Areas with high probability of occurrence are primarily found in the northwestern mountains, often fragmented by topography. MaxEnt projected a decline in suitable habitats for these species, with new suitable areas emerging in SCPA's southern mountains. Future habitat reduction rates for the years 2050 and 2070 varied: S. oreosinaica (2-23%), P. boveana (7-32%), and M. serbaliana (2-41%), while R. arabica demonstrated high stability (> 96%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings show an altitudinal shift, with species moving to higher, southern mountains, experiencing habitat fragmentation and losses elsewhere. Effective conservation needs ongoing monitoring, in-situ/ex-situ efforts, and addressing threats like overgrazing. Raising environmental awareness is crucial.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"68"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12243221/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144610603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The blueprint for survival: the blue dasher dragonfly as a model for urban adaptation.","authors":"Ethan R Tolman, Ellie Gamett, Christopher D Beatty, Aaron Goodman, Brittney Hahn, Christian Benischek, Gracie Castillo, Ethan Derderian, Santiago Fernandez-Juarez, Ben Gallafent, James Jenson, Dick Jordan, Magnolia Schneider, Roberto Salazar, Towako Tamano, Maleah Wei, Jacob Idec, Rob Guralnick, Jessica L Ware, Manpreet K Kohli","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02399-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02399-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Human alteration of natural environments and habitats is a major driver of species decline. However, a handful of species thrive in human altered environments. The biology, distribution, population structure, and molecular adaptations enabling certain species to thrive in human-altered habitats are not well understood. Here, we evaluate the population and functional genomics, ecological niche and distributions, and geometric morphometrics of the blue dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis), one of the most ubiquitously observed insects in human altered habitats.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Using resequencing data we identify a number of genes involved with the success of the blue dasher in human altered habitats, including loci contributing to immune function and response to oxidative stress. Some genes related to these functions are found in regions of strong population structure, while others are not, potentially indicating both regional and widespread adaptations to urban environments within this species. Using one of the most robust locality datasets for any species to date, we also generate habitat suitability predictions which show that P. longipennis has spread with urbanization, suggesting humans have created suitable habitat for this species. These results complement morphological and genomic data showing P. longipennis (particularly East of the Rocky Mountains) has the capacity to rapidly disperse to newly suitable habitats.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We confirm that P. longipennis is well equipped to deal with the stress of urban habitats, by observing large swaths of suitable habitat of P. longipennis throughout its range, both within and outside of major cities and towns, and identifying conserved and population specific molecular mechanisms related to urban stress. Furthermore, we observe minor variability in suitable habitat of P. longipennis throughout the years; we do not note any substantial loss or gain in habitat, suggesting its resiliency to fluctuations in temperature and precipitation throughout the United States. Given the shared barriers to colonizing an urban habitat, we expect that many of the molecular adaptations to urban environments we have identified in P. longipennis could be found in other animals that are broadly tied to urban habitats.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"67"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12235871/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144593170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exome analysis reveals species divergence in TYR and identifies species genetic markers in five endemic Macaca species on Sulawesi Island.","authors":"Xiaochan Yan, Nami Arakawa, Kanthi Arum Widayati, Laurentia Henrieta Permita Sari Purba, Fahri Fahri, Bambang Suryobroto, Yohey Terai, Hiroo Imai","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02407-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02407-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>One of the greatest challenges for evolutionary biologists is explaining the vast diversity observed in nature. On Sulawesi Island, macaque species (genus Macaca) have rapidly diverged from their common ancestor, displaying remarkable variability in body morphology and coat color. Despite low overall genetic variation among these macaques, limited hybridization occurs between neighboring species, possibly due to genomic divergence or local adaptations that act as barriers to interbreeding. This study aims to investigate highly divergent regions that might contribute to the distinct genetic and phenotypic characteristics differentiating the five Sulawesi macaque species. Additionally, it explores how these genetic differences influence biological functions, and identifies species-specific genetic markers for species identification and conservation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Using whole exome sequencing of 46 individuals, approximately 550 highly divergent genes were identified across four pairwise species comparisons. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that these genes were enriched in critical biological processes, including cell adhesion, pigmentation, signal transduction, and stress responses. Among these, pigmentation-associated genes, such as TYR and LRIT3, exhibited highly divergent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Missense mutations in TYR (D132N) and LRIT3 (S394P, Y363D) were likely linked to the dark coat colors of Macaca nigra and Macaca nigrescens, highlighting their contribution to species-specific traits. Furthermore, hundreds of fixed SNPs were identified as potential species-specific markers for species discrimination, providing valuable resource for distinguishing Sulawesi macaque species.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides critical insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying species divergence and coat color variation in Sulawesi macaques. Highly divergent genomic regions between neighboring species likely contribute to species divergence and reinforce reproductive isolation. Enriched GO terms and pathways suggest that genetic divergence impacts key biological processes, including pigmentation, signal transduction, cell adhesion, and stress responses. Specifically, divergence in pigmentation-related genes such as TYR may play a role in interspecies differences in coat color, facilitating local adaptation, mate selection, and species identification. Additionally, the identification of species-specific genetic markers holds significant potential for conservation efforts, such as monitoring populations at risk of hybridization or genetic introgression. These findings advance our understanding of the genetic diversity in this unique primate group.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"66"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12225481/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144562267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Challenging and redefining Dollo's law of evolution: re-appearance of lost structures.","authors":"William R Jackman, Vincent J Lynch, Yann Gibert","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02405-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02405-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>According to a modern interpretation of Dollo's Law of irreversibility in evolution, a lost structure, is unable to reappear in evolution due to the accumulation of mutations in the genes required for its formation. However, several reports have challenged this law, even in vertebrates. Lost structures have been reported to re-appear in natural populations, as well as through spontaneous mutations, genetic engineering, and pharmacology. Some of these lost structure re-appearances are fully viable in the organism, especially while others are only detected during embryogenesis or early stages of life as the organism is unable to reach adult stages. We hypothesize that the re-appearance of lost structures can only occur if homologous structures are still fully developed in the organism, allowing for a re-utilization of the developmental pathways that are needed to re-form a lost structure. However, if no instance of the lost character remains, the re-evolution of this specific character cannot happen. Therefore, our latest results using pharmacology continue to support hat has been previously postulated: Dollo's law of evolution remains true for lost characters that have not remained in the organism but should be amended for the re-apparition of lost structures with serial homologous characters present in any form in the organism.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"62"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12210513/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forelimb feathering, soft tissues, and skeleton of the flying dromaeosaurid Microraptor.","authors":"Maxime Grosmougin, Xiaoli Wang, Xiaoting Zheng, Thomas G Kaye, Matthieu Chotard, Luke A Barlow, T Alexander Deccechi, Michael B Habib, Juned Zariwala, Scott A Hartman, Xing Xu, Michael Pittman","doi":"10.1186/s12862-025-02397-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-025-02397-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Microraptor is an essential animal for understanding the evolution of flight in birds and their closest relatives. Recent studies have uncovered evidence of its powered flight potential and details of its diet and ecology. However, we are still missing a thorough description of the anatomy of Microraptor connecting feathers, soft tissues, and osteology together. Here we focus on the forelimbs of ten new Microraptor specimens from the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature studied under Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence. We compared our results with extensively studied existing specimens (e.g., IVPP V13352 and BMNHC PH881), other key early paravians (e.g., Anchiornis, Archaeopteryx and Confuciusornis), as well as modern birds to expand what we know about flight origins, and early diverging paravian theropods more generally.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Plumage was previously only minimally known. Reconstruction of the forewings relied on brief descriptions of the primary and secondary feathers. With the new specimens studied here, we uncovered the whole shape of the wing from the tip of the digits to the proximal end of the ulna, the different layers of feathers, and the number as well as characteristics of each feather type. Skeletal features of the forelimb remain mostly unchanged from previous descriptions, but we bring new information regarding wrist bones and functional implications of humerus and radius features. The most significant advances have been recovered in preserved soft tissues including those of the shoulder, propatagium and postpatagium. In particular, the new specimens of Microraptor help us to understand the impact of the soft tissues on lift generation and cohesiveness of the forewing.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study permitted us to recreate the most accurate forewing of Microraptor to date. Taken together, new information on the forelimb anatomy shows that Microraptor shares many of the forewing characteristics of early avialans and modern birds, and helps us to better understand the flight behaviour and ecology of this iconic and unique 'four-winged' animal along with its role in flight evolution. These results serve as a starting point to conduct more precise and integrative analyses (e.g., including hindwings and/or tail) on the locomotor behaviours of Microraptor.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"25 1","pages":"65"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12211143/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}