Body size variation of world's living terrestrial vertebrates in the Cenozoic

Abstract

Body size is among the key subjects in macroecology and macroevolution with important implications for conservation. Two major rules have been proposed to explain how body size changes over evolutionary time (Cope's rule) and across temperature gradients (Bergmann's rule). To date, however, the applicability of both rules to global terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapod) remains elusive. Here, using the newly available data, we comparatively examined the temporal variation in species body size of the world's extant tetrapod species (tetrapoda as a whole) and of each class, amphibians (Amphibia), reptiles (Reptilia), mammals (Mammalia), and birds (Aves), through the Cenozoic Era. When all four classes were considered together, the species' body size had increased over time and was negatively correlated with global surface temperature. However, separate analyses on each of the four classes showed that reptiles and mammals tended to support Cope's rule, while birds and amphibians did not. Also, we found no clear difference in temporal body size variation between endothermic and ectothermic species. Overall, the support for Bergmann's rule was much stronger than that for Cope's rule. Future research using more complete and compatible body size data from fossils is needed to better understand how species' body size evolves over time and across space.

Keywords

Bergmann's rule / body size / climate change / Cope's rule / macroevolution / tetrapod

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2025 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.