The emergence of modern zoogeographic regions in Asia examined through climate–dental trait association patterns

The complex and contrasted distribution of terrestrial biota in Asia has been
linked to active tectonics and dramatic climatic changes during the Neogene.
However, the timings of the emergence of these distributional patterns and
the underlying climatic and tectonic mechanisms remain disputed. Here, we
apply a computational data analysis technique, called redescription mining, to
track these spatiotemporal phenomena by studying the associations between
the prevailing herbivore dental traits of mammalian communities and climatic
conditions during the Neogene. Our results indicate that the modern latitu-
dinal zoogeographic division emerged after the Middle Miocene climatic
transition, and that the modern monsoonal zoogeographic pattern emerged
during the late Late Miocene. Furthermore, the presence of a montane forest
biodiversity hotspot in the Hengduan Mountains alongside Alpine fauna on the
Tibetan Plateau suggests that the modern distribution patterns may have
already existed since the Pliocene.