[Taxacom] Geophylogeny Aaiiiieee!

[Richard Zander]

A phylogenetic dendrogram is a visual aid to nested parentheses of
relatedness of extant exemplars. The phylogenetic "tree" is
haecceitistically vacuous. (Where haecceitism refers to "thisness" or
some element of scientific realism in a diagram.) There is no there
there - G. Stein. Of course phylogeneticists have to contort themselves
to insert an element of macroevolution in their analyses. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * 
Richard H. Zander 
Missouri Botanical Garden, PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299 USA 
Web sites: http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/resbot/ and
http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/bfna/bfnamenu.htm
Modern Evolutionary Systematics Web site:
http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/resbot/21EvSy.htm


-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
[mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Bob Mesibov
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 7:31 PM
To: Stephen Thorpe
Cc: TAXACOM
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Geophylogeny

Aaiiiieeee! Getting close to hair-splitting here, and maybe an expert
biogeographer on the list would like to comment. The historical
phylogeography I've read has mainly focused on testing specific
hypotheses, e.g. that a particular area was a refuge or a hotspot of
diversification. What Kidd wants to do is literally map a phylogeny, so
that the whole construct is an hypothesis which could be tested with
fossils or geological narratives.
-- 
Dr Robert Mesibov
Honorary Research Associate
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, and
School of Zoology, University of Tasmania
Home contact: PO Box 101, Penguin, Tasmania, Australia 7316
Ph: (03) 64371195; 61 3 64371195
Webpage: http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/?articleID=570

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