Molecular Phylogeny and Dating of Early Primate Divergences

摘要: Rapid evolutionary radiations characterize many higher-level taxa. This pattern of diversification poses a challenge for accurate phylogenetic reconstruction, since the few synapomorphies defining short internal branches are often overwritten over long periods time, making determination homology difficult and rendering outgroup method rooting prone to error both molecular morphological systematic investigations (Carroll, 1988; Novacek, 1992; Swofford et al., 1996). These issues can be addressed hopefully overcome by employing comprehensive taxon sampling, large numbers characters, multiple data sets (derived from different sources), diverse inferential techniques. In spite being limited samples only living or recently extinct taxa, have great potential help decipher timing rapid ancient radiations. Specifically, they provide means collect larger characters than most matrices, present simpler better understood mode evolution that currently modeled within maximum likelihood (ML) framework (e.g., Goldman 2000; 1996; Whelan 2001).