Taxon Sampling in Morphological Studies

[Jim Whitfield]

Thomas,
        One of the most comprehensive recent papers I know dealing with
this is an analysis of the exemplar approach versus coding higher taxa as
terminals
using various methods.  It deals with the issue you are asking about:

Bininda-Emonds, O. R. P., H. N. Bryant and A. P. Russell.  1998.
Supraspecific taxa as terminals in cladistic analysis: implicit assumptions
of monophyly and a comparison of methods/  Biol. J. Linnaean Soc. 64:
101-133.

        Hope it helps, rather than confuse the matter further!

                                                Cheers, Jim Whitfield




>Even if not for the sake of itself, but in order to check origin of certain
>traits, it might be appropriate to make a phylogenetic study of a group.
>Time and money is short.
>
>Are there any good references dealing with extremely restrictive taxon
>sampling (using only very few representants of each higher group), or
>is it not reasonable at all to use only very few representants?
>
>    Thomas
>
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Thomas Schlemmermeyer
>Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sco Paulo
>Caixa Postal 42694
>CEP 04299-970
>Sco Paulo, SP, Brasil


James B. Whitfield
Associate Professor
Department of Entomology
321 Agriculture
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
phone (501)575-2482
FAX (501)575-2452
jwhitfie at comp.uark.edu