Am. J. Bot. Li-Cor Advertisement
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (51)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Crepet, W. L.
Right arrow Articles by Gandolfo, M. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Crepet, W. L.
Right arrow Articles by Gandolfo, M. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Crepet, W. L.
Right arrow Articles by Gandolfo, M. A.
(American Journal of Botany. 2004;91:1666-1682.)
© 2004 Botanical Society of America, Inc.


Invited Special Papers

Fossil evidence and phylogeny: the age of major angiosperm clades based on mesofossil and macrofossil evidence from Cretaceous deposits1

William L. Crepet2, Kevin C. Nixon and Maria A. Gandolfo

228 Plant Science Building, L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-4301 USA

The fossil record has played an important role in the history of evolutionary thought, has aided the determination of key relationships through mosaics, and has allowed an assessment of a number of ecological hypotheses. Nonetheless, expectations that it might accurately and precisely mirror the progression of taxa through time seem optimistic in light of the many factors potentially interfering with uniform preservation. In view of these limitations, attempts to use the fossil record to corroborate phylogenetic hypotheses based on extensive comparisons among extant taxa may be misplaced. Instead we suggest a method—minimum age node mapping—for combining reliable fossil evidence with hypotheses of phylogeny. We use this methodology in conjunction with a phylogeny for angiosperms to assess timing in the history of major angiosperm clades. This method places many clades both with and without fossil records in temporal perspective, reveals discrepancies among clades in propensities for preservation, and raises some interesting questions about angiosperm evolution. By providing a context for understanding the gaps in the angiosperm fossil record this technique lends credibility and support to the remainder of the angiosperm record and to its applications in understanding a variety of aspects of angiosperm history. In effect, this methodology empowers the fossil record.

Key Words: angiosperms • fossil history • minimum age • node dating




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
M. J. Moore, C. D. Bell, P. S. Soltis, and D. E. Soltis
Using plastid genome-scale data to resolve enigmatic relationships among basal angiosperms
PNAS, December 4, 2007; 104(49): 19363 - 19368.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Bot.Home page
L. Calvillo-Canadell and S. R. S. Cevallos-Ferriz
Reproductive structures of Rhamnaceae from the Cerro del Pueblo (Late Cretaceous, Coahuila) and Coatzingo (Oligocene, Puebla) Formations, Mexico
Am. J. Botany, October 1, 2007; 94(10): 1658 - 1669.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
D. L. Dilcher, G. Sun, Q. Ji, and H. Li
An early infructescence Hyrcantha decussata (comb. nov.) from the Yixian Formation in northeastern China
PNAS, May 29, 2007; 104(22): 9370 - 9374.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
GeneticsHome page
F. Wu, L. A. Mueller, D. Crouzillat, V. Petiard, and S. D. Tanksley
Combining Bioinformatics and Phylogenetics to Identify Large Sets of Single-Copy Orthologous Genes (COSII) for Comparative, Evolutionary and Systematic Studies: A Test Case in the Euasterid Plant Clade
Genetics, November 1, 2006; 174(3): 1407 - 1420.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
ScienceHome page
G. O. Poinar Jr. and B. N. Danforth
A fossil bee from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber.
Science, October 27, 2006; 314(5799): 614 - 614.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
PALAIOSHome page
E. J. HERMSEN and J. R. HENDRICKS
THE HIERARCHY OF TIME
Palaios, October 1, 2006; 21(5): 403 - 405.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Bot.Home page
E. J. Hermsen, T. N. Taylor, E. L. Taylor, and D. Wm. Stevenson
Cataphylls of the Middle Triassic cycad Antarcticycas schopfii and new insights into cycad evolution
Am. J. Botany, May 1, 2006; 93(5): 724 - 738.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Bot.Home page
W. L. Crepet, K. C. Nixon, and M. A. Gandolfo
An extinct calycanthoid taxon, Jerseyanthus calycanthoides , from the Late Cretaceous of New Jersey
Am. J. Botany, September 1, 2005; 92(9): 1475 - 1485.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
J. L. SEAGO JR, L. C. MARSH, K. J. STEVENS, A. SOUKUP, O. VOTRUBOVA, and D. E. ENSTONE
A Re-examination of the Root Cortex in Wetland Flowering Plants With Respect to Aerenchyma
Ann. Bot., September 1, 2005; 96(4): 565 - 579.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Bot.Home page
J. D. Palmer, D. E. Soltis, and M. W. Chase
The plant tree of life: an overview and some points of view
Am. J. Botany, October 1, 2004; 91(10): 1437 - 1445.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2004 by the Botanical Society of America, Inc.