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Size and shape in ontogeny and phylogeny

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

Pere Alberch
Affiliation:
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
Stephen Jay Gould
Affiliation:
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
George F. Oster
Affiliation:
Departments of Entomological Sciences and Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
David B. Wake
Affiliation:
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720

Abstract

We present a quantitative method for describing how heterochronic changes in ontogeny relate to phyletic trends. This is a step towards creating a unified view of developmental biology and evolutionary ecology in the study of morphological evolution. Using this representation, we obtain a greatly simplified and logical scheme of classification. We believe that this scheme will be particularly useful in studying the data of paleontology and comparative morphology and in the analysis of processes leading to adaptive radiation. We illustrate this scheme by examples drawn from the literature and our own work.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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