Aim The two species of ground parrots ( Pezoporus wallicus and P. flaviventris ) are morphologically and behaviourally similar, yet geographically disjunct and genetically distinct. We investigated the dynamics of divergence between the two species in the context of niche evolution across Australian platycercine parrots. Location Australia. Taxon Platyercine parrots. Methods We estimated climatic and habitat niche breadths for...

Aim Limb reduction is a dramatic evolutionary transition, yet whether it is achieved in similar trajectories across clades, and its environmental drivers, remain unclear. We investigate the macroevolutionary and biogeographical patterns of limb reduction in skinks, where limb reduction occurred more often than in any other tetrapod clade, and test their associations with substrate categories using a global database. We test fo...

Aim Limb‐reduced squamates are a convenient model system to investigate macroevolutionary trends in morphology. Here, we provide morphological, ecological and literature data on all known species of limb‐reduced skinks (Scincidae) and their relatives, representing one of the most diverse and widely distributed groups of limb‐reduced squamates. Location Global. Taxon Skinks (Reptilia, Squamata: Scincidae). Limb‐reduced forms. M...

Aim Clutch size is a key life‐history trait. In lizards, it ranges over two orders of magnitude. The global drivers of spatial and phylogenetic variation in clutch have been extensively studied in birds, but such tests in other organisms are lacking. To test the generality of latitudinal gradients in clutch size, and their putative drivers, we present the first global‐scale analysis of clutch sizes across lizard taxa. Location...

Aim Variation in body size across animal species underlies most ecological and evolutionary processes shaping local‐ and large‐scale patterns of biodiversity. For well over a century, climatic factors have been regarded as primary sources of natural selection on animal body size, and hypotheses such as Bergmann's rule (the increase of body size with decreasing temperature) have dominated discussions. However, evidence for cons...

Aim Animal body sizes are often remarkably variable across islands, but despite much research we still have a poor understanding of both the patterns and the drivers of body size evolution. Theory predicts that interspecific competition and predation pressures are relaxed on small, remote islands, and that these conditions promote body size evolution. We studied body size variation across multiple insular populations of 16 rep...

Aim A major Late Quaternary vertebrate extinction event affected mostly large‐bodied ‘megafauna’. This is well documented in both mammals and birds, but evidence of a similar trend in reptiles is scant. We assess the relationship between body size and Late Quaternary extinction in reptiles at the global level. Location Global. Methods We compile a body size database for all 82 reptile species that are known to have gone extinc...

Aim Climate is thought to exert a strong influence on animal body sizes. We examined the relationship between amphibian body size and several climatic variables to discern which climatic variables, if any, affect amphibian size evolution. Location Europe and North America. Methods We assembled a dataset of mean sizes of 356 (out of 360) amphibian species in Europe, the USA and Canada, and tested how they are related to tempera...