Family of Rodents May Explain How Some Groups of Animals Become So Diverse
Florida State UniversityFSU Professor of Biological Science Scott Steppan and his former postdoctoral researcher John Schenk, now at Georgia Southern University, developed a new model that shows how geography can play a major role in how families of animals evolve and result in many species. The research was part of a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to understand why the superfamily Muroidea (which includes the subfamily Sigmodontinae) is the most diverse branch of the mammal family tree.