Out of India, thrice: diversification of Asian forest scorpions reveals three colonizations of Southeast Asia

This study presents the first quantitative reconstruction of the biogeography of Asian forest scorpions (Heterometrinae). Using divergence time estimation, ancestral range estimation, and diversification analyses, the authors reconstruct the origins, dispersal, and diversification patterns of these scorpions. Their findings suggest four major events: (1) Heterometrinae diverged from other Scorpionidae in Africa after India's separation in the Cretaceous; (2) Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) mass extinction led to range contraction in southern India and Sri Lanka; (3) Three dispersals to Southeast Asia occurred during India's collision with Eurasia; (4) Post-KT extinction, Indian Heterometrinae recolonized and diversified in new habitats.

Stephanie F. Loria, Lorenzo Prendini