title: Ancestor-descendant relationships in evolution: origin of the extant pygmy right whale, Caperea marginata.
abstract: Ancestor-descendant relationships (ADRs), involving descent with modification, are the fundamental concept in evolution, but are usually difficult to recognize. We examined the cladistic relationship between the only reported fossil pygmy right whale, †Miocaperea pulchra, and its sole living relative, the enigmatic pygmy right whale Caperea marginata, the latter represented by both adult and juvenile specimens. †Miocaperea is phylogenetically bracketed between juvenile and adult Caperea marginata in morphologically based analyses, thus suggesting a possible ADR-the first so far identified within baleen whales (Cetacea: Mysticeti). The †Miocaperea-Caperea lineage may show long-term morphological stasis and, in turn, punctuated equilibrium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand cheng-hsiu.tsai@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Cheng-Hsiu
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3617-366X
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: R Ewan
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Fordyce
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005580:Fossils; D010802:Phylogeny; D014907:Whales / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*
keywords: Cetacea; Mysticeti; ontogenetic clade; phylogenetic methods; punctuated equilibrium