Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Reply to Camens: How recently did modern monotremes diversify?

2010; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 107; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.0913152107

1091-6490

Matthew J. Phillips, Thomas Bennett, Michael S. Y. Lee,

Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

Camens (1) responds to our analysis of morphological data (2) in which platypuses (Ornithorhynchidae) and echidnas (Tachyglossidae) were inferred to be each other's closest relatives, to the exclusion of Early Cretaceous forms, Teinolophos and Steropodon. Our phylogeny is consistent with the late appearance of undisputed fossil echidnas and platypuses. Molecular dating provided important independent corroboration, revealing that platypuses and echidnas diverged only 19–48 Ma, implying that Teinolophos and Steropodon (105–121 Ma) must lie outside the platypus–echidna dichotomy.