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From: RonO <rokimoto@cox.net>
Newsgroups: talk.origins
Subject: Re: Baobab treee evolution and spread
Date: Sat, 18 May 2024 16:03:59 -0500
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On 5/15/2024 1:57 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:
> 
> Since species rafting has been a topic
> upon occasion... This isn't rafting per se
> but does illustrate how something can
> establish itself elsewhere thanks to ocean
> currents.
> 
> https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/science/baobab-trees-evolution.html
> 
> The Unusual Evolutionary Journey of the
> Baobab Tree
> New research shows the “upside-down trees”
> originated in Madagascar and then caught a
> ride on ocean currents to reach mainland
> Africa and Australia.
> ...
> For all the tales told about baobabs, though,
> their origin story has remained a mystery.
> 
> Scientists have debated for years how baobabs
> wound up in the places where they grow. Eight
> species exist around the world, and their
> distribution, like the trees themselves, is
> unusual: One species occurs across much of
> mainland Africa, while six are in Madagascar.
> The last is found faraway, in northwestern
> Australia.
> 
> Most researchers have hypothesized that the
> trees originated on mainland Africa. But
> findings published Wednesday in the journal
> Nature tell a different story. Baobabs
> instead most likely first evolved in
> Madagascar, where they diversified into
> different species. Two then embarked on
> long-distance oceanic journeys to distant
> continents.
> ...
> 
> 
> https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07447-4
> The rise of baobab trees in Madagascar
> 
> Abstract
> The baobab trees (genus Adansonia) have
> attracted tremendous attention because of
> their striking shape and distinctive
> relationships with fauna1. These
> spectacular trees have also influenced
> human culture, inspiring innumerable
> arts, folklore and traditions. Here we
> sequenced genomes of all eight extant
> baobab species and argue that Madagascar
> should be considered the centre of origin
> for the extant lineages, a key issue in
> their evolutionary history2,3. Integrated
> genomic and ecological analyses revealed
> the reticulate evolution of baobabs,
> which eventually led to the species
> diversity seen today. Past population
> dynamics of Malagasy baobabs may have
> been influenced by both interspecific
> competition and the geological history of
> the island, especially changes in local
> sea levels. We propose that further
> attention should be paid to the
> conservation status of Malagasy baobabs,
> especially of Adansonia suarezensis and
> Adansonia grandidieri, and that
> intensive monitoring of populations of
> Adansonia za is required, given its
> propensity for negatively impacting the
> critically endangered Adansonia perrieri.
> 
The AIG believes that the koala, kangaroos, and echidna made it back to 
Australia after the flood on massive rafts of floating vegetation that 
were part of the flood debris.  Baobabs were obviously a major 
constituent of those rafts so they found themselves upside down under.

Ron Okimoto