© 2008 Society of Systematic Biologists
Morphology, Paleontology, and Placental Mammal Phylogeny
Edited by Mark Hafner
1 Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge Downing Street, CB2 3EJ, UK; E-mail: r.asher@zoo.cam.ac.uk
2 Department of Geology & Geography, Georgia Southern University Statesboro, Georgia 30460 USA; E-mail: geislerj@georgiasouthern.edu
3 Palaeontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich Karl Schmid-Straße 4, CH-8006 Zürich, Switzerland; E-mail: m.sanchez@pim.uzh.ch
Received September 23, 2007; Revised November 23, 2007; Accepted January 13, 2008
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Placental mammals constitute the most intensively studied large clade of organisms. Deciphering their relationships has important implications not only to understand evolutionary processes (Bininda-Emonds et al., 2007) but also to inform many aspects of biomedical research (Springer and Murphy, 2007). Springer et al. (2007) have recently discussed limitations of morphological analysis of placental phylogeny compared with reconstructions based on molecular data. They presented a pessimistic view of the potential of morphological characters for use in high-level placental mammal phylogeny reconstruction, as the morphological data set they scrutinized (from Asher et al., 2003) does not recover the four major clades of mammals (Afrotheria, Xenarthra, Laurasiatheria, and Euarchontoglires) that these authors regard as overwhelmingly supported.
In their contribution to the recurring debate on the "adequacy of morphology" (from their title), Springer et al. (2007) have provided empirical data to support their claims of the inadequacy of a
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Congruence and the "True" Mammalian Tree |
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Generalization across Morphological Data Sets |
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Data Rarefaction and Emulating Extinction |
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The Role of Paleontology in Eutherian Systematics |
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Conclusion: Have We Exhausted Morphology-Based Studies of Phylogeny in Placentals? |
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  M. S. Springer, R. W. Meredith, E. Eizirik, E. Teeling, and W. J. Murphy Morphology and Placental Mammal Phylogeny Syst Biol, June 1, 2008; 57(3): 499 - 503. [Full Text] [PDF]
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