Did tectonic activity stimulate oligo-miocene speciation in the Indo-West Pacific?

Analyses of molecular phylogenies of three unrelated tropical marine gastropod genera, Turbo, Echinolittorina, and Conus, reveal an increase in the rate of cladogenesis of some Indo-West Pacific (IWP) clades beginning in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene between 23.7 and 21.0 million years ago. In all three genera, clades with an increased rate of diversification reach a maximum of diversity, in terms of species richness, in the central IWP. Congruence in both the geographical location and the narrow interval of timing suggests a common cause. The collision of the Australia and New Guinea plate with the southeast extremity of the Eurasian plate approximately 25 Mya resulted in geological changes to the central IWP, including an increase in shallow-water areas and length of coastline, and the creation of a mosaic of distinct habitats. This was followed by a period of rapid diversification of zooxanthellate corals between 20 and 25 Mya. The findings reported here provide the first molecular evidence from multiple groups that part of the present-day diversity of shallow-water gastropods in the IWP arose from a rapid pulse of speciation when new habitats became available in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene. After the new habitats were filled, the rate of speciation likely decreased and this combined with high levels of extinction (in some groups), resulted in a slow down in the rate of diversification in the genera examined.