- Phylogenetic bracketing
Phylogenetic bracketing is a method of
inference used in biological sciences. It is to infer the likelihood of unknown traits inorganism s based on their position in a phylogenetic tree. One of the main applications of phylogenetic bracketing is on extinct animals, known from fossils.Extant phylogenetic bracketing (EPB) is done by comparing an extinct animal to its nearest living relatives. [Witmer, L. M. 1995. The extant phylogenetic bracket and the importance of reconstructing soft tissues in fossils. In Functionalmorphology in vertebrate paleontology (ed. J. J. Thompson), pp. 19–33. Cambridge University Press] [Witmer, L. M. 1998. Application of the extant phylogenetic bracket (EPB) approach to the problem of anatomical novelty in the fossil record. "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology" 18(3:Suppl.): 87A.] For example, "
Tyrannosaurus ", atheropod dinosaur , is bracketed bybird s andcrocodile s. A feature found in both birds and crocodiles would likely be present in "Tyrannosaurus", such as the capability to lay anamniotic egg , whereas a feature both birds and crocodiles lack, such ashair , would probably not be present in "Tyrannosaurus". Sometimes this approach is used for the reconstruction of ecological traits as well. [Joyce, W. G. and Gauthier, J. A. 2003. Palaeoecology of Triassic stem turtles sheds new light on turtle origins. "Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B" (2004) 271: 1–5]ee also
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Cladistics
*Paleontology References
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