Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography

Phylogenetic Systematics and Biogeography: Using Cladograms in Historical Biogeography Methods

Book review Foundations of phylogenetic systematics

‘‘Foundations of Phylogenetic Systematics’’ (FPS), Johann-Wolfgang Wägele’s updated translation of an earlier German version (Wägele, 2001), has several unifying objectives, namely ‘‘to present a comparison and synthesis of the methodological procedure of Hennigian phylogenetic systematics with new numerical methods, to depict what these methods have in common and where they differ, and to sear...

Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of tree boas (Corallus spp.).

Inferring the evolutionary and biogeographic history of taxa occurring in a particular region is one way to determine the processes by which the biodiversity of that region originated. Tree boas of the genus Corallus are an ancient clade and occur throughout Central and South America and the Lesser Antilles, making it an excellent group for investigating Neotropical biogeography. Using sequence...

Molecular phylogeny of the Forcipulatacea (Asteroidea: Echinodermata): systematics and biogeography

We present a comprehensively sampled three-gene phylogeny of the monophyletic Forcipulatacea, one of three major lineages within the crown-group Asteroidea. We present substantially more Southern Hemisphere and deep-sea taxa than were sampled in previous molecular studies of this group. Morphologically distinct groups, such as the Brisingida and the Zoroasteridae, are upheld as monophyletic. Br...

Molecular systematics and biogeography of the Neotropical monkey genus, Alouatta.

We take advantage of the broad distribution of howler monkeys from Mexico to Argentina to provide a historical biogeographical analysis on a regional scale that encompasses the entire Neotropics. The phylogenetic relationships among 9 of the 10 recognized Alouatta species were inferred using three mitochondrial and two nuclear genes. The nuclear gene regions provided no phylogenetic resolution ...