Phylogenetic evidence

[Tom DiBenedetto]

Don.Colless wrote: re "phylogeny"

> it's the study of the origins of species - or taxa, if you wish;
> but what  warrants the leap, to the "enterprise of erecting classifications etc."?

Usage. In my memory cells, the overwhelming majority of historical uses of the term
phylogeny were in reference to the genealogical relationships of taxa. This usage is
symbolized by, and was probably reinforced by Hennig's use of the phrase
"phylogenetic systematics" to describe his approach. It emphasizes that "phylogeny"
refers to the hierarchy of relationships, the tree, and that phylogenetic systematics
refers to that sub-field within systematics that seeks to classify in strict accordance to
the inferred tree.

Tom diBenedetto