Evolutionary explosions and the phylogenetic fuse

A literal reading of the fossil record indicates that the early Cambrian ( c. 545 million years ago) and early Tertiary ( c. 65 million years ago) were characterized by enormously accelerated periods of morphological evolution marking the appearance of the animal phyla, and modern bird and placental...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 1998-04, Vol.13 (4), p.151-156
Main Authors: Cooper, Alan, Fortey, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Biological evolution
Cambrian
divergence dates
fossil record
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
K–T boundary
mass extinctions
molecular clock
molecular evolution
radiations
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Summary:A literal reading of the fossil record indicates that the early Cambrian ( c. 545 million years ago) and early Tertiary ( c. 65 million years ago) were characterized by enormously accelerated periods of morphological evolution marking the appearance of the animal phyla, and modern bird and placental mammal orders, respectively. Recently, the evidence for these evolutionary `explosions' has been questioned by cladistic and biogeographic studies which reveal that periods of diversification before these events are missing from the fossil record. Furthermore, molecular evidence indicates that prolonged periods of evolutionary innovation and cladogenesis lit the fuse long before the `explosions' apparent in the fossil record.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/S0169-5347(97)01277-9