Patterns of speciation and limits to phylogenetic resolution

G A Hoelzer; D J Meinick

doi:10.1016/0169-5347(94)90207-0

Patterns of speciation and limits to phylogenetic resolution

Trends Ecol Evol. 1994 Mar;9(3):104-7. doi: 10.1016/0169-5347(94)90207-0.

Authors

G A Hoelzer¹, D J Meinick

Affiliation

¹ Guy Hoelzer is at the Depts of Biology and Environmental Resource Sciences, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA.

PMID: 21236789
DOI: 10.1016/0169-5347(94)90207-0

Abstract

The practice of phylogenetic systematics frequently Includes the assumption that cladogenesis occurs by a series of bifurcations. Consequently, a phylogenetic tree that includes one or more polytomous nodes is generally viewed as unresolved. However, while some polytomles surely represent a failure of resolution, others may be real or the best resolution that can be achieved. Therefore, polytomies should be considered as phylogenetic hypotheses in the same way as bifurcating topologies.