# s-evol: just three traits to explain, by Tereza & John

AA << found that just three traits explained most variation in diversification and species numbers among phyla: the most successful phyla have a skeleton (either internal or external), live on land (instead of in the ocean), and parasitize other organisms. >>

<< Other traits, including those that might seem more dramatic, had surprisingly little impact on diversification and species numbers: evolutionary accomplishments such as having a head, limbs, and complex organ systems for circulation and digestion don't seem to be primary accessories in the evolutionary "dress for success."  >>

<< "Parasitism isn't correlated with any of the other traits, so it seems to have a strong effect on its own," said Wiens [John Wiens]. >>

How to be winner in the game of evolution. Jan. 13, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-01-winner-game-evolution.html

Tereza Jezkova, John J. Wiens. What Explains Patterns of Diversification and Richness among Animal Phyla? The American Naturalist (2017). DOI: 10.1086/690194

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/690194