Bininda-Emonds O R, Gittleman J L, Purvis A
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, U.K.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 1999 May;74(2):143-75. doi: 10.1017/s0006323199005307.
One way to build larger, more comprehensive phylogenies is to combine the vast amount of phylogenetic information already available. We review the two main strategies for accomplishing this (combining raw data versus combining trees), but employ a relatively new variant of the latter: supertree construction. The utility of one supertree technique, matrix representation using parsimony analysis (MRP), is demonstrated by deriving a complete phylogeny for all 271 extant species of the Carnivora from 177 literature sources. Beyond providing a 'consensus' estimate of carnivore phylogeny, the tree also indicates taxa for which the relationships remain controversial (e.g. the red panda; within canids, felids, and hyaenids) or have not been studied in any great detail (e.g. herpestids, viverrids, and intrageneric relationships in the procyonids). Times of divergence throughout the tree were also estimated from 74 literature sources based on both fossil and molecular data. We use the phylogeny to show that some lineages within the Mustelinae and Canidae contain significantly more species than expected for their age, illustrating the tree's utility for studies of macroevolution. It will also provide a useful foundation for comparative and conservational studies involving the carnivores.
构建更大、更全面的系统发育树的一种方法是整合现有的大量系统发育信息。我们回顾了实现这一目标的两种主要策略（整合原始数据与整合树），但采用了后一种策略中相对较新的变体：超树构建。通过从177篇文献来源中推导出食肉目所有271个现存物种的完整系统发育树，证明了一种超树技术——简约分析矩阵表示法（MRP）的实用性。除了提供食肉目系统发育的“共识”估计外，该树还指出了那些关系仍存在争议的分类群（例如小熊猫；在犬科、猫科和鬣狗科内部）或尚未得到详细研究的分类群（例如獴科、灵猫科以及浣熊科的属内关系）。还根据74篇文献来源中的化石和分子数据估计了整个树中的分歧时间。我们利用该系统发育树表明，鼬科和犬科中的一些谱系所含物种数量比根据其年龄预期的要多得多，这说明了该树在宏观进化研究中的实用性。它还将为涉及食肉动物的比较研究和保护研究提供有用的基础。
