Development, homology and systematics.
The basic issue of recognizing and delimiting characters derived from different levels of biological organization, including molecular, cellular, morphological and behavioral levels, has been addressed previously in the cladistic literature. But when considering new sources of information (such as the proliferating Evo-Devo data), it is critical to review traditional theoretical and methodological approaches to their interpretation. This is especially important because the conclusions of a phylogenetic analysis are dependent upon the initial recognition and definition of the characters, the basic units of comparison in phylogeny reconstruction. This chapter explores the role of recent Evo-Devo studies in systematics and attempts to place the Evo-Devo literature into a systematics context.
Bang
Ranhy
R
Graduate Training Program in Arthropod Systematics, Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Schultz
Ted R
TR
DeSalle
Rob
R
D000818:Animals; D010802:Phylogeny