Patterns of vertebrate evolution influenced by the climatic and environmental effects of the Tibetan Plateau uplift
Article
Figures
Metrics
Preview PDF
Reference
Related
Cited by
Materials
Abstract:
During the gradual formation of the Tibetan Plateau, the shaping of modern biodiversity in this region was greatly influenced by its uplift. At the same time, the origination of many endemic species and even the intercontinental spread of ancestors of modern widespread groups were also driven by this uplift. During the Mesozoic era, the area where the Tibetan Plateau is located today was covered with vast oceans. The Triassic marine sediments in the Himalayas yield vertebrate fossils such as ichthyosaurs and helicoprionid sharks. By the Jurassic and the Cretaceous, some areas in southeastern Xizang gradually transitioned from marine environment to freshwater lakes in the Qamdo Basin, similar to the coeval Sichuan Basin. Reptiles such as dinosaurs lived near the lakes. The collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate in the early Cenozoic era gradually uplifted the Tibetan Plateau. At that time, there was a water system connecting the interior of the Tibetan region with the tropical regions of Southeast Asia, resulting in the flourishing of tropical and subtropical fish. With the significant increase in terrain elevation in this area, the environment became dry and cool, resulting in the extinction of fish acclimated to warm weather and their transformation into the unique snow carps of the Tibetan Plateau. The rapid rise of the Tibetan Plateau resulted in the strengthening of the monsoon climate, and the continuous aridification of the inland regions of Central Asia. The Miocene fauna in western China is mainly composed of drought tolerant grassland mammals, as well as coexisting drought tolerant birds and reptiles. The Tibetan Plateau finally reached its modern height during the Pliocene when its climate and environment had the characteristics of a cryosphere, and it became the initial evolutionary center of the Ice Age fauna. The global temperature dropped below today’s level for the first time at 2.6 Ma, and animals that have adapted to the freezing environment quickly spread to the surrounding areas of the Tibetan Plateau and more distant areas, becoming the foundation of modern animal diversity. The Tibetan Plateau has undergone complex and large-scale environmental changes during its geological history. A series of tectonic movements and geomorphological evolution have triggered and formed the climate pattern of the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas and may have promoted the increased biodiversity in the region.
