Eumalacostracan Phylogeny and Total Evidence
Author Information
Author(s): Ronald A Jenner, Ciara Ní Dhubhghaill, Matteo P Ferla, Matthew A Wills
Primary Institution: Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath
Hypothesis
Can combining molecular and morphological evidence resolve the phylogeny of Eumalacostraca?
Conclusion
Existing molecular and morphological evidence is unable to resolve a well-supported eumalacostracan phylogeny due to rate heterogeneity and conflict between data partitions.
Supporting Evidence
- Previous research found no rate heterogeneity in Eumalacostraca.
- Significant conflict was detected between data partitions, especially between morphology and molecules.
- Different sets of taxa have the greatest impact on relationships within molecular versus morphological trees.
Takeaway
Scientists tried to figure out how different types of shrimp and crabs are related, but found that the information they have doesn't give a clear answer.
Methodology
The study combined evidence from four nuclear ribosomal and mitochondrial loci with a synthesized morphological dataset and performed Bayesian and parsimony analyses.
Potential Biases
Potential long-branch attraction may affect the results.
Limitations
The study highlights significant conflict between molecular and morphological evidence and the low clade support values.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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