GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Introduction. Adaptive radiation, through which a multitude of species emerge from a single evolutionary lineage, constitutes a major source of biodiversity [1–4].

Detailed explanation-2: -Adaptive radiation is a rapid increase in the number of species with a common ancestor, characterized by great ecological and morphological diversity.

Detailed explanation-3: -Adaptive radiation is the rapid diversification of a single lineage into many species that inhabit a variety of environments or niches and differ in the morphological and/or physiological traits required to exploit these environments (1–4).

Detailed explanation-4: -Starting from a single ancestor, adaptively radiating groups are expected to differentiate into an array of morphologically and ecologically diverse species filling multiple available ecological niches.