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Species, genera, and phylogenetic structure in the human fossil record: a modest proposal
Author(s) -
Tattersall Ian
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
evolutionary anthropology: issues, news, and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1520-6505
pISSN - 1060-1538
DOI - 10.1002/evan.21523
Subject(s) - phylogenetic tree , fossil record , biology , evolutionary biology , phylogenetics , zoology , paleontology , biochemistry , gene
Because of the greater morphological distances among them, genera should be more robustly recognizable in the fossil record than species are. But there are clearly upper as well as lower bounds to their species inclusivity. Currently, the vast majority of fossils composing the large and rapidly expanding paleoanthropological record are crammed into one of two genera ( Australopithecus vs Homo ), expanding the latter, especially, far beyond any reasonable morphological or phylogenetic limits. This excessive inclusivity obscures both diversity and the complexities of phylogenetic structure within the hominid family.