Independent origins and rapid evolution of the placenta in the fish genus Poeciliopsis. Academic Article

abstract

• The evolution of complex organs is a source of controversy because they require the contributions of many adaptations to function properly. We argue that placentas are complex, that they have evolved multiple times in Poeciliopsis, and that there are closely related sister taxa that have either no placentas or intermediate stages in the evolution of a placenta. Furthermore, placentas can evolve in 750,000 years or less, on the same time scale as suggested by theoretical calculations for the evolution of complex eyes. Independent origins of such complexity, accompanied by sister taxa that either lack or have intermediate stages in the evolution of the trait, present an opportunity to study the evolution of novelty and complexity from a comparative, evolutionary perspective.

authors

• Mateos, Mariana

published proceedings

• Science

altmetric score

• 35.176

author list (cited authors)

• Reznick, D. N., Mateos, M., & Springer, M. S.

citation count

• 175

complete list of authors

• Reznick, David N||Mateos, Mariana||Springer, Mark S

publication date

• November 2002

publisher

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)  Publisher

published in

• Science  Journal

keywords

• Adaptation, Physiological
• Animals
• Biological Evolution
• Body Weight
• Cyprinodontiformes
• DNA, Mitochondrial
• Female
• Fertilization
• Hybridization, Genetic
• Models, Animal
• Ovum
• Phylogeny
• Placenta
• Reproduction
• Species Specificity

PubMed Central ID

• 12411703

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1126/science.1076018

start page

• 1018

end page

• 1020

volume

• 298

issue

• 5595

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1076018