Morphofunctional patterns in Neotropical felids: species co-existence and historical assembly

MORALES, MIRIAM MARIANA; GIANNINI; NORBERTO PEDRO

BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2010 vol. 100 p. 711 - 724

0024-4066

Extant felids are morphologically homogeneous, probably as a result of recent radiation and constraints from their predatory specializations. The Neotropical assemblage comprises 12 of the 41 extant felid species, which occupy all habitats available, with many species coexisting locally. We studied this assemblage on the basis of 31 craniodental variables reflecting morphofunctional variation, measured from 229 specimens representing all 12 species. Multivariate patterns were summarized allowing for phylogenetic covariation. Additional factors (geographical distribution, use of habitat and stratum, and activity pattern) were coded for each species. As expected, body sizeaccounted for most variation, covarying with membership to three deep clades and, to a lesser  extent, with large-scale geographic variation. The species tend to segregate in morphospace plus one or more factors (e.g. habits) that make interspecific overlap in niche space minimal. Using dated phylogenies, biogeographic history, and the fossil record, we reconstructed the historical assembly of the Neotropical felid guild. We found a pattern of successive invasions and speciation in which new lineages occupied previously vacant areas of morphospace, or new species occupied overlapping areas but with contrasting habits. This may be general among antagonistic species of historically structured guilds, and we predict similar patterns in other continents.