reticulate phylogenies & cladistic classification

[Peter Schuchert]

Hybrid species are well known for many plant taxa and have become  known in
animals too. Although cladistic methodology can principally not be applied
to reticulate phylogenies, it might nevertheless all be only a matter of
how much reticulation is present and at what subordinate level.
Are there any opinions  to what extent reticulate relationships in
subordinate clades are permissible ?
This might especially be important for molecular phylogenies.
(A low degree of such reticulation might be just disappear in the general
"noise" of the analysis).
In clades with high degree of hybridisation, do we have to resort to
phenetic classification?

Thanks for your opinions
Peter

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Peter Schuchert
University of Basel
Rheinsprung 9
CH-4051 Basel  Switzerland
fax 0041 61 267 34 57   tel 0041 61 267 34 78

http://www.unibas.ch/dib/zoologie/research/schuch.html
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