An Ancient Divide in a Contiguous Rainforest: Endemic Earthworms in the Australian Wet Tropics

Research on endemic earthworms (Terrisswalkerius) in the Australian Wet Tropics (AWT) reveals that their diversification predates significant climate shifts, tracing back to the Paleogene era. This ancient divergence aligns with biogeographical sub-regions and suggests the AWT has acted as both a repository of biodiversity and a site for ongoing speciation. The study employed phylogenetic analysis and historical biogeography methods (DEC and DIVA) to uncover these patterns, indicating concordant evolutionary processes across different taxonomic levels. These findings underscore the importance of multi-scale analyses in understanding broad-scale geographic diversity.

Moreau, C. S., Hugall, A. F., McDonald, K. R., Jamieson, B. G. M., & Moritz, C. (2015). An Ancient Divide in a Contiguous Rainforest: Endemic Earthworms in the Australian Wet Tropics. Plos One, 10(9), e0136943. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136943