Molecular dating and biogeography of the early placental mammal radiation

The timing and phylogenetic hierarchy of early placental mammal divergences was determined based on combined DNA sequence analysis of 18 gene segments (9779 bp) from 64 species. Using rooted and unrooted phylogenies derived f rom distinct theoretical approaches, strong support for the divergence of f our principal clades of eutherian mammals was achieved. Minimum divergence dates of the earliest nodes in the placental mammal phylogeny were estimate d with a quartet-based maximum-likelihood method that accommodates rate var iation among lineages using conservative fossil calibrations from nine diff erent nodes in the eutherian tree. These minimum estimates resolve the earl iest placental mammal divergence nodes at periods between 64 and 104 millio n years ago, in essentially every case predating the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K -T) boundary. The pattern and timing of these divergences allow a geographi c interpretation of the primary branching events In eutherian history, like ly originating in the southern supercontinent Gondwanaland coincident with its breakup into Africa and South America 95-105 million years ago. We prop ose an integrated genomic, paleontological, and biogeographic hypothesis to account for these earliest splits on the placental mammal family tree and address current discrepancies between fossil and molecular evidence.