Abstract The Miocene epoch (23.03–5.33 Ma) was a time interval of global warmth, relative
to today. Continental configurations and mountain topography transitioned toward modern …

Tropical Africa is home to an astonishing biodiversity occurring in a variety of ecosystems.
Past climatic change and geological events have impacted the evolution and diversification …

The response of the terrestrial biosphere to warming remains one of the most poorly
understood and quantified aspects of the climate system. One way to test the behavior of the …

The geological record encodes the relationship between climate and atmospheric carbon
dioxide (CO2) over long and short timescales, as well as potential drivers of evolutionary …

This review explores the evolution of extant South American tropical biomes, focusing on
when and why they developed. Tropical vegetation experienced a radical transformation …

The Sahara is the largest hot desert on Earth. Yet the timing of its inception and its response
to climatic forcing is debated, leading to uncertainty over the causes and consequences of …

The assembly of Africa's iconic C4 grassland ecosystems is central to evolutionary
interpretations of many mammal lineages, including hominins. C4 grasses are thought to …

In parallel with pronounced cooling in the oceans, vast areas of the continents experienced
enhanced aridification and restructuring of vegetation and animal communities during the …

Identification of the selective forces that shaped adaptive phenotypes generally relies on
current habitat and function, but these may differ from the context in which adaptations …

Living hominoids are distinguished by upright torsos and versatile locomotion. It is
hypothesized that these features evolved for feeding on fruit from terminal branches in …