RE: Limits of cladistics?

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> HPB1956@aol.com
>
>
>  There's a report in Science regarding this in extant big cats. I
> haven't had
> time so far to go to the library at the local university and take
> a closer
> look. But here's a (freely) translated report which appeared in
> the science
> section of Süddeutsche Zeitung dated 04/03/2001.

The actual paper wasn't in Science (that was only a news report).  The
original article is:
OLAF R. P. BININDA-EMONDS,  DENISE M. DECKER-FLUM,  JOHN L. GITTLEMAN.
2001.  The utility of chemical signals as phylogenetic characters: an
example from the Felidae.  Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
72(1):1-15.

>  If you've got these problems of determing relationships with
> extant species,
> how much more does this apply for extinct species where you can do only a
> cladistic analysis?
>
Well, one advantage of working on rare extinct forms is that with fewer taxa
to sample, there are fewer possible trees! :-)  Be that as it may, it is
true that there are problems working with diverse closely related extant
taxa who are morphologically indistinct in terms of hard tissue anatomy
(lions & tigers, for example, are difficult to distinguish from skeletal
material, but disgustingly simple to recognize with external soft
tissues...).

One advantage of this kitty-scent paper is that the factor they are using to
evaluate is one of the ways the cats themselves use to recognize each other.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796