Cui Y. Q. auteur aut IRD Cheng J. L. auteur aut IRD Wen Z. X. auteur aut IRD Feijo A. auteur aut IRD Xia L. auteur aut IRD Ge D. Y. auteur aut IRD Artige E. auteur aut IRD Granjon Laurent auteur aut IRD Yang Q. S. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access How ecological and evolutionary factors affect small mammal diversity in arid regions remains largely unknown. Here, we combined the largest phylogeny and occurrence dataset of Gerbillinae desert rodents to explore the underlying factors shaping present-day distribution patterns. In particular, we analyzed the relative contributions of ecological and evolutionary factors on their species diversity using a variety of models. Additionally, we inferred the ancestral range and possible dispersal scenarios and estimated the diversification rate of Gerbillinae. We found that Gerbillinae likely originated in the Horn of Africa in the Middle Miocene and then dispersed and diversified across arid regions in northern and southern Africa and western and central Asia, forming their current distribution pattern. Multiple ecological and evolutionary factors jointly determine the spatial pattern of Gerbillinae diversity, but evolutionary factors (evolutionary time and speciation rate) and habitat filtering were the most important in explaining the spatial variation in species richness. Our study enhances the understanding of the diversity patterns of small mammals in arid regions and highlights the importance of including evolutionary factors when interpreting the mechanisms underlying large-scale species diversity patterns. specialized arid regions evolutionary time Gerbillinae habitat filtering landcover speciation rate AFRIQUE SUBSAHARIENNE AFRIQUE DE L'EST SAHARA ARABIE ASIE ZONE ARIDE 080 082 [Early access] [14 p.] 2024 1674-5507 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010090782 10.1093/cz/zoae025 1674-5507 [F B010090782] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010090782 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2024-07/010090782.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2024-07-10 2025-11-06 fdi:010090782 fre