Hughes Nigel C
Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Bioessays. 2007 Nov;29(11):1081-4. doi: 10.1002/bies.20674.
Analysis of the degree of intraspecific morphological polymorphism during the evolutionary history of trilobites using an informatic approach(1) provides striking evidence of a long-suspected but previously unsubstantiated pattern: degrees of polymorphism are markedly higher in phylogenetically basal, stratigraphically early species. This unequivocal pattern prompts further exploration of the relationship between microevolutionary variance and macroevolutionary history. It demonstrates that the 'traditional' fossil record of skeletonized organisms can provide unique insight into questions of major evolutionary interest.
利用信息学方法分析三叶虫进化历史中种内形态多态性的程度(1)，为一种长期以来被怀疑但此前未经证实的模式提供了显著证据：在系统发育基部、地层早期的物种中，多态性程度明显更高。这种明确的模式促使人们进一步探索微观进化变异与宏观进化历史之间的关系。它表明，有硬体的生物的“传统”化石记录能够为重大进化问题提供独特的见解。
