RE: Platypuses may be older than we think...

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

David Marjanovic wrote:

> Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:39:45 +0200
> From: david.marjanovic@gmx.at
> Subject: Re: Platypuses may be older than we think...
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
>
> So. Here is the surprisingly short SVP meeting abstract (p. 137A):
>
> Timothy Rowe, Thomas Rich, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Mark Springer & Michael
> Woodburne*: Fossil evidence on divergence timing of the platypus and echidna
> clades

[snip]

The divergence between the platypus and echidna lineages undoubtedly pre-dates 
the divergence between any two crown-group placental orders.  Given just how 
distinct the two modern monotreme lineages are, McKenna and Bell (1997) split 
the order Monotremata into two separate orders (Platypoda and Tachyglossa).  
Although the Linnaean concept of "order" has died an (un)natural death, the 
names Platypoda and Tachyglossa might turn out to be useful for future 
phylogenetic usage.

> * Institutional address given as "Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, 
> Vanuatu".

Damn global warming...!

Cheers

Tim
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