Loss, persistence and reversal of phenotypic traits

The irreversibility of complex trait loss has long been a tenet of evolutionary biology. However, this idea is increasingly at odds with the numerous documented exceptions across the Tree of Life. We synthesise this growing body of evidence across a diverse array of taxa and traits, exploring the evolutionary conditions that enable evolutionary reversal. By integrating macroevolutionary, genetic, and developmental information, we argue that trait reversal is commonly fostered by some form of persistence in the generative developmental pathway of the lost trait. We identify three overarching modes of trait reversal and support them with multiple case studies: by pleiotropy (the involvement of the same generative components in other traits and/or functions), by plasticity (environment-dependent expression of the trait) and by hemiplasy (persistence in another lineage, followed by reticulate evolution). We also examine important affinities between trait reversal and evolutionary novelties, undermining a neat distinction between what is old and what is new in evolution. This survey may provide a useful framework for future explorations of the developmental mechanisms underlying these still overlooked macroevolutionary dynamics.