Evolution peaks on tropical mountain
Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 12:20
in Biology & Nature
Tropical mountains have an exceptionally high biodiversity. This is also the case for Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. During an expedition, organized by Naturalis Biodiversity Center and Sabah Parks, experts investigated the local fauna, flora, and fungi. They discovered that most of the unique species that occur in the area had evolved later than the age of the mountain itself, and that some had evolved from immigrant ancestors, whereas others evolved from local ancestors. These findings are published in Nature.