The early Eocene birds of the Messel fossil site: a 48 million‐year‐old bird community adds a temporal perspective to the evolution of tropical avifaunas

Birds play an important role in studies addressing the diversity and species richness of tropical ecosystems, but because of the poor avian fossil record in all extant tropical regions, a temporal perspective is mainly provided by divergence dates derived from calibrated molecular analyses. Tropical ecosystems were, however, widespread in the Northern Hemisphere during the early Cenozoic, and the early Eocene German fossil site Messel in particular has yielded a rich avian fossil record. The Messel avifauna is characterized by a considerable number of flightless birds, as well as a high diversity of aerial insectivores and the absence of large arboreal birds. With about 70 currently known species in 42 named genus‐level and at least 39 family‐level taxa, it approaches extant tropical biotas in terms of species richness and taxonomic diversity. With regard to its taxonomic composition and presumed ecological characteristics, the Messel avifauna is more similar to the Neotropics, Madagascar, and New Guinea than to tropical forests in continental Africa and Asia. Because the former regions were geographically isolated during most of the Cenozoic, their characteristics may be due to the absence of biotic factors, especially those related to the diversification of placental mammals, which impacted tropical avifaunas in Africa and Asia. The crown groups of most avian taxa that already existed in early Eocene forests are species‐poor. This does not support the hypothesis that the antiquity of tropical ecosystems is key to the diversity of tropical avifaunas, and suggests that high diversification rates may be of greater significance.     

Rapid warming accelerates tree growth decline in semi‐arid forests of Inner Asia

Forests around the world are subject to risk of high rates of tree growth decline and increased tree mortality from combinations of climate warming and drought, notably in semi‐arid settings. Here, we assess how climate warming has affected tree growth in one of the world's most extensive zones of semi‐arid forests, in Inner Asia, a region where lack of data limits our understanding of how climate change may impact forests. We show that pervasive tree growth declines since 1994 in Inner Asia have been confined to semi‐arid forests, where growing season water stress has been rising due to warming‐induced increases in atmospheric moisture demand. A causal link between increasing drought and declining growth at semi‐arid sites is corroborated by correlation analyses comparing annual climate data to records of tree‐ring widths. These ring‐width records tend to be substantially more sensitive to drought variability at semi‐arid sites than at semi‐humid sites. Fire occurrence and insect/pathogen attacks have increased in tandem with the most recent (2007–2009) documented episode of tree mortality. If warming in Inner Asia continues, further increases in forest stress and tree mortality could be expected, potentially driving the eventual regional loss of current semi‐arid forests.     

Classification and phytogeographical differentiation of oriental beech forests in Turkey and Bulgaria

Floristic differentiation of the oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) forests in Turkey and Bulgaria was investigated and the role of geographical and topographical factors in this differentiation was assessed. After geographical and ecological stratification of the available 922 relevés, 288 remained. Classification, by applying cluster analysis, resulted in seven vegetation units defined by species composition which represent the geographical and ecological variation of Fagus orientalis forests. DCA ordination was applied to these units by passively projecting their chorological structure, as supplementary variables. For more detailed interpretation of vegetation types with similar geographic distribution patterns, PCA was applied by passively projecting the chorological elements, life-forms and topographical factors as supplementary variables. Seven vegetation units representing the geographical and ecological variety of Fagus orientalis forests were described. Four vegetation units represent the core area of Fagus orientalis distribution on the western and middle coast of the Black Sea region (Euxine region); the remaining three types represent the distribution in the eastern Black Sea region (Colchic region), the distribution in western and southern Anatolia under the influence of the Mediterranean climate and the distribution in the transitional zone from the Euxine region to the continental parts of Inner Anatolia, respectively. The four vegetation types in Euxine region reflect the decreasing effect of Black Sea towards Inner Anatolia, as well as altitudinal differences, except the forest type representing forests on calcareous sites. The other three vegetation units represent ravine, lowland to montane and altimontane forests in Euxine region. Fagus orientalis forests could be distinguished by their floristic composition, their chorological elements and life-forms spectra, which reflect a geographical and ecological gradients.     

Growth form and distribution of introduced plants in their native and non-native ranges in Eastern Asia and North America

There is a growing interest in understanding the influence of plant traits on their ability to spread in non-native regions. Many studies addressing this issue have been based on relatively small areas or restricted taxonomic groups. Here, we analyse a large data base involving 1567 plant species introduced between Eastern Asia and North America or from elsewhere to both regions. We related the extent of species distributions in each region to growth form and the distinction between upland and wetland habitats. We identified significant relationships between geographical distribution and plant traits in both native and exotic ranges as well as regional differences in the relationships. Range size was larger for herbaceous graminoids and forbs, especially annuals compared to perennials, than for woody species, and range size also was larger for plants of wetland compared to upland habitats. Distributions were more extensive in North America than in Eastern Asia, although native plants from both regions had broader distributions than non-natives, with exotics from elsewhere intermediate. Growth form and environment explained more of the variance in distribution of plants in North America than in Eastern Asia. The influence of growth form and habitat on distribution suggests that these traits might be related to tolerance of ecological conditions. In addition, the smaller extents of species in non-native compared to native areas suggest roles for dispersal limitation and adaptation to region-specific ecological conditions in determining distribution.     

Evolution of bird communities in the Neogene of Central Asia,with a review of the Neogene fossil record of Asian birds

A complete taxonomic review of Neogene birds of continental Asia is provided. To date, avifauna from the latter half of the Miocene and Pliocene of Central Asia (Mongolia and adjacent regions of Inner Asia) are most thoroughly investigated. Available data enable a reconstruction of successive replacement of Early and Middle Miocene avifaunas by communities of the Recent type. Middle Miocene avifaunas of Mongolia include a great number of extinct genera and species, many of which were widespread in Eurasia. Extant genera became dominant in the Late Miocene and taxa close to living species appear in the Late Pliocene fossil record. Late Pliocene communities of birds of Central Asia were complex in genesis, composed of Miocene relicts (Struthio), immigrants from the European regions of the Palearctic (phasianid Plioperdix), North American immigrants (Calcarius), and also autochthonous elements, the origin of which is apparently connected with the arid belt of Central Asia (diverse passerines).     

Does land-use change affect biodiversity dynamics at a macroecological scale? A case study of birds over the past 20 years in Japan

Because the effects of land-use change on biodiversity have primarily been examined at or below the regional scale, it remains unclear whether such effects scale up to the macroecological scale (i.e. nationwide or continental scale). In Japan, forests have become more mature since the cessation of most forestry efforts in the 1970s. At a nationwide scale, this forest maturation may lead to reductions in the abundance of species that depend on early successional forests (early successional species) and increases in the abundance of species that depend on mature forests (mature forest species). Japan has met its high demand for wood through imports from South-east Asia, resulting in deforestation there. Therefore, the abundance of mature forest species that migrate long distances to overwinter in South-east Asia may decrease. We examined changes in the range sizes of birds in Japan over the past 20 years using the living planet index (LPI). The LPI indicated that the range sizes of early successional species decreased. For mature forest species, the range sizes of long-distance migrants decreased, whereas those of short-distance migrants and residents increased. Our predictions were generally supported. Our results indicate that the effects of land-use change extend to the macroecological scale and that such changes in one country can affect the biodiversity dynamics in other countries. Forest maturation in Japan and concomitant deforestation in South-east Asia have been caused by internationally coupled socioeconomic processes. Therefore, biodiversity conservation at the macroecological scale must consider the role of land use, and such efforts will require both international and socioeconomic perspectives.     

A comparison of the taxonomic richness of temperate plants in East Asia and North America

The taxonomic richness of seed plants at different taxonomic levels was compared between temperate East Asia and North America at both continental and semi-continental scales. In each comparison, land area and latitude range were adjusted to a comparable level between the two continental regions. East Asia is significantly more diverse than North America. In general, differences in taxonomic diversity arise at and below the genus level. At the continental scale, East Asia has 1.3 and 1.5 times as many genera and species, respectively, as North America. The northern part of East Asia has 1.1 times as many species as the northern part of North America. At the genus level, the northern part of East Asia is less diverse than the northern part of North America by a factor of 0.94. This pattern indicates that the diversity bias between the two continental regions results from the flora of southern East Asia. The diversity differences between East Asia and North America are not homogenously distributed across different plant groups. At the species level, East Asia had significantly more species than expected in magnoliids, alismatids, Liliidae, ranunculids, and rosids and had significantly less species in the Commelinidae, Caryophyllidae, and euasterids than North America.     

Land-use effects on local biodiversity in tropical forests vary between continents

Land-use change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, especially in the tropics where secondary and plantation forests are expanding while primary forest is declining. Understanding how well these disturbed habitats maintain biodiversity is therefore important—specifically how the maturity of secondary forest and the management intensity of plantation forest affect levels of biodiversity. Previous studies have shown that the biotas of different continents respond differently to land use. Any continental differences in the response could be due to differences in land-use intensity and maturity of secondary vegetation or to differences among species in their sensitivity to disturbances. We tested these hypotheses using an extensive dataset collated from published biodiversity comparisons within four tropical regions—Asia, Africa, Central America and South America—and a wide range of animal and plant taxa. We analysed responses to land use of several aspects of biodiversity—species richness, species composition and endemicity—allowing a more detailed comparison than in previous syntheses. Within each continent, assemblages from secondary vegetation of all successional stages retained species richness comparable to those in primary vegetation, but community composition was distinct, especially in younger secondary vegetation. Plantation forests, particularly the most intensively managed, supported a smaller—and very distinct—set of species from sites in primary vegetation. Responses to land use did vary significantly among continents, with the biggest difference in richness between plantation and primary forests in Asia. Responses of individual taxonomic groups did not differ strongly among continents, giving little indication that species were inherently more sensitive in Asia than elsewhere. We show that oil palm plantations support particularly low species richness, indicating that continental differences in the response of biodiversity to land use are perhaps more likely explained by Asia’s high prevalence of oil palm plantations.     

The microsoroid ferns: Inferring the relationships of a highly diverse lineage of Paleotropical epiphytic ferns (Polypodiaceae, Polypodiopsida)

The relationships of the microsoroid ferns were studied using a DNA sequence-based phylogenetic approach. Nucleotide sequences for up to four chloroplast genome regions were assembled for 107 samples from 87 species. Microsoroids s.l. include six lineages of which two are species rich. The results indicate that several genera are not monophyletic (e.g. Microsorum), several controversial genera are confirmed to be monophyletic (e.g. Leptochilus), and some genera new to science should be recognized (M. membranaceum clade). Unique insights were gained into the biogeographic history of this highly diverse epiphytic vascular plant lineage that is widespread in continental Asia to Australasia. Evidence was found for splits into lineages diversifying in parallel in continental Asia and Malesia. No evidence was recovered for an African radiation because all African microsoroid species either also are found in Asia or have sister species in continental Asia. In contrast, evidence for independent radiations were discovered for the Australasian region.     

Tropical deciduous forest in Yunnan,southwestern China: Implications for geological and climatic histories from a little-known forest formation

In the southern mountain ranges of Yunnan province, China, deep valleys of several large rivers create rain shadows with hot dry summers, and are locally designated tropical; towards the north, notably in the Lancang (Upper Mekong) valley, these regions may experience frost during winter. The woody forest canopy of these valleys is predominantly deciduous, with evergreen elements in the north, where the canopy is open and the forest savanna-like. However, we here present tall forest with a closed deciduous canopy and semi-evergreen subcanopy observed in hot dry valleys of these rivers and their tributaries in the tropical south. The structure and physiognomy of these forests resemble the tall (moist) deciduous forest formation widespread in South Asia and Indo-Burma. Furthermore, these forests are largely composed of tropical elements at both the generic (80%) and the species level (>70%), indicating that these forests are indeed tropical. We originally hypothesized that these isolated forests represent refugia of a pre-Holocene extension of tall (moist) deciduous forest formation of South Asia and Indo-Burma. The sample plot we established to test this hypothesis confirmed that these forests share the structure and physiognomy of the tall (moist) deciduous forest formation; however, the plots also showed that these forests lack the characteristic and dominant species of the formation''s Indo-Burmese range. The tree flora, in particular, indicates that both deciduous and evergreen elements are instead mostly derived from the adjacent tropical semi-evergreen forests of tropical southern China; yet they also include an important endemic element, which implies that these forests have survived as refuges possibly since the Pliocene. The exceptional representation of evergreen elements in these forests indicates that they have rarely been subject to hot fires or domestic cattle browsing, adding to the unique nature of the forests and further justifying their strict conservation.     

Ecological comparisons between Eastern Asia and North America: historical and geographical perspectives

The close floristic affinities between eastern Asia and North America have long been recognized and intensively studied, however, the ecological and biogeographical consequences of such a floristic relationship between these two remotely separated regions has been largely neglected until recently. Quantitative investigations of such relationships could greatly improve our understanding of many global and historical aspects of species diversity, vegetation dynamics, and biogeography, especially with the rapid developments of cladistic methods of phylogenetic reconstruction. All comparisons and predictions will depend on understanding past and present physical and biological processes (i.e. geological history of the continents and the evolutionary history of organisms), as well as human impacts in both regions. Both species level (life history characteristics, distribution, ecological functions) and community level (species composition, structure, endemism) variables should be investigated. Comparisons should be conducted spatially across vegetation zones and temporally through geological episodes. Emphases on the phylogeny and geological history of component taxa by analysing and synthesizing multidisciplinary data would be helpful, especially with regard to the current trends in global climate change. Diversity measured on different scales (i.e. α-, β, and g-diversity) could provide invaluable information about local-regional relationships and their ecological implications in continental or even global biodiversity patterns.     

Continental and regional ranges of North American mammals: Rapoport's rule in real and null worlds

Aim To assess the relationship between species richness and distribution within regions arranged along a latitudinal gradient we use the North American mammalian fauna as a study case for testing theoretical models. Location North America. Methods We propose a conceptual framework based on a fully stochastic mid‐domain model to explore geographical patterns of range size and species richness that emerge when the size and position of species ranges along a one‐dimensional latitudinal gradient are randomly generated. We also analyse patterns for the mammal fauna of North America by comparing empirical results from a biogeographical data base with predictions based on randomization null models. Results We confirmed the validity of Rapoport's rule for the mammals of North America by documenting gradients in the size of the continental ranges of species. Additionally, we demonstrated gradients of mean regional range size that parallel those of continental range. Our data also demonstrated that mean range size, measured both as a continental or a regional variable, is significantly correlated with the geographical pattern in species richness. All these patterns deviated sharply from null models. Main conclusions Rapoport's statement of an areographic relationship between species distribution and richness is highly relevant in modern discussions about ecological patterns at the geographical scale.     

Linking remotely sensed ecosystem resilience with forest mortality across the continental United States

Episodes of forest mortality have been observed worldwide associated with climate change, impacting species composition and ecosystem services such as water resources and carbon sequestration. Yet our ability to predict forest mortality remains limited, especially across large scales. Time series of satellite imagery has been used to document ecosystem resilience globally, but it is not clear how well remotely sensed resilience can inform the prediction of forest mortality across continental, multi-biome scales. Here, we leverage forest inventories across the continental United States to systematically assess the potential of ecosystem resilience derived using different data sets and methods to predict forest mortality. We found high resilience was associated with low mortality in eastern forests but was associated with high mortality in western regions. The unexpected resilience–mortality relation in western United States may be due to several factors including plant trait acclimation, insect population dynamics, or resource competition. Overall, our results not only supported the opportunity to use remotely sensed ecosystem resilience to predict forest mortality but also highlighted that ecological factors may have crucial influences because they can reverse the sign of the resilience–mortality relationships.     

Landscape Patterns in Rainforest Phylogenetic Signal: Isolated Islands of Refugia or Structured Continental Distributions?

Objectives

Identify patterns of change in species distributions, diversity, concentrations of evolutionary history, and assembly of Australian rainforests.

Methods

We used the distribution records of all known rainforest woody species in Australia across their full continental extent. These were analysed using measures of species richness, phylogenetic diversity (PD), phylogenetic endemism (PE) and phylogenetic structure (net relatedness index; NRI). Phylogenetic structure was assessed using both continental and regional species pools. To test the influence of growth-form, freestanding and climbing plants were analysed independently, and in combination.

Results

Species richness decreased along two generally orthogonal continental axes, corresponding with wet to seasonally dry and tropical to temperate habitats. The PE analyses identified four main areas of substantially restricted phylogenetic diversity, including parts of Cape York, Wet Tropics, Border Ranges, and Tasmania. The continental pool NRI results showed evenness (species less related than expected by chance) in groups of grid cells in coastally aligned areas of species rich tropical and sub-tropical rainforest, and in low diversity moist forest areas in the south-east of the Great Dividing Range and in Tasmania. Monsoon and drier vine forests, and moist forests inland from upland refugia showed phylogenetic clustering, reflecting lower diversity and more relatedness. Signals for evenness in Tasmania and clustering in northern monsoon forests weakened in analyses using regional species pools. For climbing plants, values for NRI by grid cell showed strong spatial structuring, with high diversity and PE concentrated in moist tropical and subtropical regions.

Conclusions/Significance

Concentrations of rainforest evolutionary history (phylo-diversity) were patchily distributed within a continuum of species distributions. Contrasting with previous concepts of rainforest community distribution, our findings of continuous distributions and continental connectivity have significant implications for interpreting rainforest evolutionary history and current day ecological processes, and for managing rainforest diversity in changing circumstances.     

Invasive aliens on tropical East Asian islands

Tropical East Asia (TEA) has numerous islands, both continental and oceanic. This study uses information on invasive aliens in terrestrial habitats on these islands to test the generality of the continental-oceanic contrast in invasibility, assess the conservation impacts of invasive species, and suggest ways to mitigate these. The continental islands of Hong Kong and Singapore are worst-case scenarios for continental invasibility and alien species often dominate in chronically disturbed sites, but very few have successfully invaded closed forests, with the exception of birds in Hong Kong. On other, less densely populated, continental islands, closed-canopy forests appear to resist invasions by all taxa, with few known exceptions. Forests on oceanic islands isolated by <100 km during the last glacial maximum appear no more susceptible to plant and invertebrate invasions than those on continental islands, but invasions by mammals are widespread. Snake invasions may be under-recognized. The remote oceanic Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, >1000 km from the nearest continent, have a native biota of largely tropical East Asian origin and are suffering from alien forest invasions across the taxonomic spectrum. These patterns of invasibility are consistent with the idea that alien invasion is facilitated by the absence of native species in the same functional group. Alien invasives are not yet a major conservation problem in TEA, except on remote islands, but their dominance on disturbed sites may slow or prevent recovery of native biodiversity. Strict quarantine is impractical in TEA, although some major introduction routes could be blocked. Management efforts should focus on early recognition and immediate control of potential problem species.     

Aboveground biomass and seasonal patterns of aboveground net primary productivity in five bamboo species in northern Laos

评价竹林的固碳潜力,需要对竹林生物量和净初级生产力(NPP)进行准确的估算。然而,在东亚和印度以外的地区对减缓气候变化很重要的相关数据收集的很少。关于NPP及其组分季节模式的信息将有助于量化影响竹林碳平衡的因素。在本研究中,我们使用了超过12个月的每月数据,对老挝北部5个主要竹林植物的地上生物量(AGB)和地上NPP进行了量化。对四种合轴分枝的竹品种Bambusa tulda, Cephalostachyum virgatum, Dendrocalamus membranaceus和Gigantochloa sp.,每个物种随机选取30个群丛;对单轴分枝的Indosasa sinica,我们建立了10个2 m × 2 m的样方,对群丛和样方内的所有植株进行编号并测量胸径。我们为每个物种设置了10或20个凋落物收集器来收集凋落物。在12个月的时间里,每月对死亡和新生的群丛进行一次调查。I. sinica的地上生物量(AGB)最大(59.87 Mg ha^-1),而C. virgatum的AGB最小(11.54 Mg ha^-1),并且大多都低于全球竹子AGB的范围(32-256 Mg ha^-1)。研究区多个竹种的同域分布可能抑制了本文所研究的五种竹种中的四种的AGB。地上的NPP估计值在3.43到14.25 Mg ha^-1 yr^-1之间;这个值在D. membranaceus (8.20 Mg ha^-1 yr^-1)和I. sinica (14.25 Mg ha^-1 yr^-1)中,分别与温带常绿森林(8.78 Mg ha^-1 yr^-1)和热带湿润森林(10.56 Mg ha^-1 yr^-1)的全球平均估计值相当。较高的群丛新生率(15.20-23.39% yr^-1)是地上NPP估计值的主要贡献因素。新竹丛的物候特征对地上NPP的季节模式影响很大。在四种合轴分枝的竹子中,随着持续降雨的开始,新的竹丛开始出现,主要在7月和8月。然而,在单轴分枝的I. sinica中,新竹丛随着温度的上升开始萌芽,主要在3月和4月。因此,我们的结果表明,竹子在老挝北部具有相当大的固碳潜力,但这种潜力可能受到气候变化的影响。     

Convergence, divergence, and homogenization in the ecological structure of emydid turtle communities: the effects of phylogeny and dispersal

Studies that have explored the origins of patterns of community structure from a phylogenetic perspective have generally found either convergence (similarity) in community structure between regions through adaptive evolution or lack of convergence (dissimilarity) due to phylogenetic conservatism in the divergent ecological characteristics of lineages inhabiting different regions. We used a phylogenetic approach to document a third pattern in the structure of emydid turtle communities. Emydid communities in southeastern North America tend to have a higher proportion of aquatic species than those in the northeast. This pattern reflects phylogenetic conservatism in the ecology and biogeography of two basal emydid clades, limiting convergence in community structure between these regions. However, differences in community structure between northeastern and southeastern North America have also been homogenized considerably by the dispersal of species with phylogenetically conserved ecological characteristics between regions. This pattern of ecologically conservative dispersal may be important in many continental and oceanic systems.     

Evolution of a non-flying mammal-dependent pollination system in Asian Mucuna (Fabaceae)

Pollinator shifts are often related to speciation in angiosperms, and the relationship between them has been discussed in several plant taxa. Although limited information on plants pollinated by non-flying mammals in Central and South America and Africa is available, related research has not been conducted in Asia. Herein, I summarize the available knowledge of pollination in Asian Mucuna (Fabaceae), a genus mainly distributed in the tropics, and discuss the evolution of plants pollinated by non-flying mammals in Asia. Nineteen pollinator species have been recorded and pollination systems have been categorized into four types. An examination of the relationship between Mucuna species and their pollinators from the lineage perspective revealed that all species in Mucuna, subgenus Macrocarpa, which are distributed in Asia, are pollinated exclusively by non-flying mammals. Additionally, plants pollinated by non-flying mammals were found to have diverged from bat-pollinated and non-flying mammal-pollinated plants, while plants pollinated by non-flying mammals have evolved multiple times. This is a unique example of evolutionary transition. I hypothesize that the diversification of squirrel species in tropical Asia may have led to the speciation and diversification of Mucuna in Asia. Furthermore, the behavioural and ecological characteristics of bats and birds in Asia differ from the characteristics of those in other regions, implying that Asian Mucuna species do not rely on bat or bird pollinators. The adaptation of floral characteristics to pollinators is not well understood in Asia. Mammal-pollinated plants in Asia may have evolved differently from those in other regions and have unique pollination systems.     

Biological Invasions in the Amazonian Tropical Rain Forest: The Case of Drosophilidae (Insecta,Diptera) in Ecuador,South America

There have been few reports of invasions in continental rain forests, especially for exotic animals. This study provides original data concerning the potential of exotic drosophilid species to colonize the Amazonian tropical rain forest. To investigate if the structure of drosophilid assemblages differed in response to anthropogenic disturbance, we performed a taxonomic survey at six sites within the Yasuni National Park in Ecuadorian Amazonia along a disturbance gradient from pristine to clearcut artificial forest. A total of 7425 individuals from 34 species were collected of which seven species were exotic. There was significant variation in the assemblage composition along this disturbance gradient; 31 percent of which was explained by the presence of exotic species, particularly at the most disturbed sites, through nonmetric multidimensional scaling and SIMPER analyses. These results confirm the susceptibility of continental rain forests to invasion by exotic species. There is an urgent need to develop and implement monitoring systems, for example, based on drosophilid assemblage surveys, to detect exotic invasions in continental tropical forests.     

Molecular Phylogeny Reveals High Diversity,Geographic Structure and Limited Ranges in Neotenic Net-Winged Beetles Platerodrilus (Coleoptera: Lycidae)

The neotenic Platerodrilus net-winged beetles have strongly modified development where females do not pupate and retain larval morphology when sexually mature. As a result, dispersal propensity of females is extremely low and the lineage can be used for reconstruction of ancient dispersal and vicariance patterns and identification of centres of diversity. We identified three deep lineages in Platerodrilus occurring predominantly in (1) Borneo and the Philippines, (2) continental Asia, and (3) Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Java. We document limited ranges of all species of Platerodrilus and complete species level turnover between the Sunda Islands and even between individual mountain regions in Sumatra. Few dispersal events were recovered among the major geographical regions despite long evolutionary history of occurrence; all of them were dated at the early phase of Platerodrilus diversification up to the end of Miocene and no exchange of island faunas was identified during the Pliocene and Pleistocene despite the frequently exposed Sunda Shelf as sea levels fluctuated with each glacial cycle. We observed high diversity in the regions with persisting humid tropical forests during cool periods. The origins of multiple species were inferred in Sumatra soon after the island emerged and the mountain range uplifted 15 million years ago with the speciation rate lower since then. We suppose that the extremely low dispersal propensity makes Platerodrilus a valuable indicator of uninterrupted persistence of rainforests over a long time span. Additionally, if the diversity of these neotenic lineages is to be protected, a high dense system of protected areas would be necessary.