Re: Fossil Record 2 database

[James D Bryant <jdb9@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Regarding the recent posts about "families" carrying equal weight and
whether one "family" may be included within another "family" violates
much of what we now follow in phylogenetic systematics. The classical
Linnean hierarchy does not follow a phylogenetic order. The question is
not, therefore, how many families existed at one time or another.
Studies such as Benton's, though a good compendium, must only be viewed
as approximations of alpha-level numbers of taxa. One cannot argue
about "families," "orders," or any other level, without imposing some
artificial classificatory scheme.

Recent papers for consideration: a series of papers by de Queiroz and
Gauthier, mostly in Systematic Biology, with comments by Harold Bryant
and Spencer Lucas.

Dan Bryant