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. 1999 Jun 22;96(13):7358-63.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.96.13.7358.

Proposal for a standardized temporal scheme of biological classification for extant species

J C Avise  1 , G C Johns
Affiliations

Proposal for a standardized temporal scheme of biological classification for extant species

J C Avise et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

With respect to conveying useful comparative information, current biological classifications are seriously flawed because they fail to (i) standardize criteria for taxonomic ranking and (ii) equilibrate assignments of taxonomic rank across disparate kinds of organisms. In principle, these problems could be rectified by adopting a universal taxonomic yardstick based on absolute dates of the nodes in evolutionary trees. By using procedures of temporal banding described herein, a simple philosophy of biological classification is proposed that would retain a manageable number of categorical ranks yet apply them in standardized fashion to time-dated phylogenies. The phylogenetic knowledge required for a time-standardized nomenclature arguably may emerge in the foreseeable future from vast increases in multilocus DNA sequence information (coupled with continued attention to phylogeny estimation from traditional systematic data). By someday encapsulating time-dated phylogenies in a familiar yet modified hierarchical ranking scheme, a temporal-banding approach would improve the comparative information content of biological classifications.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of gross disparities of taxonomic assignments in current classifications. The phylogenies depicted, based on an integration of molecular and paleontological evidence, come from information in refs. (a), 26 (b), and 44 (c).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hypothetical phylogeny explaining the concept of temporal banding (see text).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The temporal-banding concept as applied to produce a time-standardized classification for the three groups of organisms in Fig. 1.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The temporal-banding concept as applied to produce an alternative time-standardized classification for the three groups of organisms in Fig. 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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