What question did this study set out to answer?

To compare total-evidence dating that includes fossil taxa directly with traditional node dating, evaluating their performance on the early evolutionary radiation of Hymenoptera.

June 22, 2012Systematic BiologyOpen Access

A Total-Evidence Approach to Dating with Fossils, Applied to the Early Radiation of the Hymenoptera

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Authors

FRFredrik RonquistSwedish Museum of Natural History SKSeraina KlopfsteinUniversity of Bern LVLars VilhelmsenUniversity of Copenhagen

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Implication

Bayesian phylogenetic analysis reveals earlier divergence times for early Hymenoptera, indicating that major lineages originated during the Carboniferous period.

Key Points

To compare total-evidence dating that includes fossil taxa directly with traditional node dating, evaluating their performance on the early evolutionary radiation of Hymenoptera.
Analyzed 343 morphological characters scored across 45 fossil taxa (4–20% complete) and 68 extant taxa, integrated with molecular data from seven markers (~5 kb) for the extant taxa.
Developed a uniform prior for clock trees with fossils and used relaxed clock models to accommodate evolutionary rate variation across lineages.
Contrasted posterior divergence time estimates from total-evidence dating with standard node dating based on nine fossil calibration points.
Total-evidence dating produced posterior divergence times that were more precise and less sensitive to prior assumptions than traditional node dating.
Evaluations indicated that four of the seven Hymenoptera calibration points used in standard node dating were likely grounded in doubtful or incorrect assumptions about fossil placement.
Estimated the origin of crown-group Hymenoptera to the Carboniferous at ~309 Ma (95% interval: 291–347 Ma), showing diversification into major extant lineages well before the Triassic.

Cite This Study

Ronquist et al. (2012) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69db18574a1e15904c836cc2 https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys058

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Implication

Bayesian phylogenetic analysis reveals earlier divergence times for early Hymenoptera, indicating that major lineages originated during the Carboniferous period.

A Total-Evidence Approach to Dating with Fossils, Applied to the Early Radiation of the Hymenoptera

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

A Total-Evidence Approach to Dating with Fossils, Applied to the Early Radiation of the Hymenoptera

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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