Scarce emergence of new species drove the decline of African megaherbivores, study suggests

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A study by the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), the National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH) and the University of Alcalá offers a new explanation for the decline of African megaherbivores. These animals, weighing more than a tonne (2,200 pounds) and today including elephants and hippopotamuses, are known for acting as ecosystem engineers. The results, published in Nature Communications, reveal that their loss of diversity throughout history was not due to their being more vulnerable to extinction, as had previously been proposed, but rather that their decline was driven by particularly low rates of speciation—the emergence of new species.