The platypus is not a rodent: DNA hybridization, amniote phylogeny and the palimpsest theory.

We present DNA-hybridization data on 21 amniotes and two anurans showing that discrimination is obtained among most of these at the class and lower levels. Trees generated from these data largely agree with conventional views, for example in not associating birds and mammals. However, the sister relationships found here of the monotremes to marsupials, and of turtles to the alligator, are surprising results which are nonetheless consistent with the results of some other studies. The Marsupionta hypothesis of Gregory is reviewed, as are opinions about the placement of chelonians. Anatomical and reproductive data considered by Gregory do not unequivocally preclude a marsupial-monotreme special relationship, and there is other recent evidence for placing turtles within the Diapsida. We conclude that the evidential meaning of the molecular data is as shown in the trees, but that the topologies may be influenced by a base-compositional bias producing a seemingly slow evolutionary rate in monotremes, or by algorithmic artefacts (in the case of turtles as well).

[1]  J. Pettigrew,et al.  Base-compositional biases and the bat problem. III. The questions of microchiropteran monophyly. , 1998, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[2]  J. Pettigrew,et al.  Base-compositional biases and the bat problem. I. DNA-hybridization melting curves based on AT- and GC-enriched tracers. , 1998, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[3]  J. Pettigrew,et al.  Base-compositional biases and the bat problem. II. DNA-hybridization trees based on AT- and GC-enriched tracers. , 1998, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[4]  A. Janke,et al.  The complete mitochondrial genome of Alligator mississippiensis and the separation between recent archosauria (birds and crocodiles). , 1997, Molecular biology and evolution.

[5]  Zhe‐Xi Luo,et al.  A new symmetrodont mammal from China and its implications for mammalian evolution , 1997, Nature.

[6]  W. Li,et al.  The cDNA cloning and molecular evolution of reptile and pigeon lactate dehydrogenase isozymes. , 1997, Molecular biology and evolution.

[7]  Kathleen K. Smith.  COMPARATIVE PATTERNS OF CRANIOFACIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EUTHERIAN AND METATHERIAN MAMMALS , 1997, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[8]  A. Janke,et al.  Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA suggest a sister group relationship between Xenarthra (Edentata) and Ferungulates. , 1997, Molecular biology and evolution.

[9]  F. Novas,et al.  New evidence concerning avian origins from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia , 1997, Nature.

[10]  F. Lapointe,et al.  DNA-hybridisation Studies of Marsupials and their Implications for Metatherian Classification , 1997 .

[11]  S. Gatesy,et al.  Haramiyids and Triassic mammalian evolution , 1997, Nature.

[12]  A Janke,et al.  The complete mitochondrial genome of the wallaroo (Macropus robustus) and the phylogenetic relationship among Monotremata, Marsupialia, and Eutheria. , 1997, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[13]  R. Reisz,et al.  CHAPTER 2 – A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON TETRAPOD PHYLOGENY , 1997 .

[14]  Michael S. Y. Lee,et al.  CHAPTER 3 – CROWN-CLADES, KEY CHARACTERS AND TAXONOMIC STABILITY: WHEN IS AN AMNIOTE NOT AN AMNIOTE? , 1997 .

[15]  O. Rieppel,et al.  Turtles as diapsid reptiles , 1996, Nature.

[16]  Simon Conway Morris,et al.  The shape of life, genes, development, and the evolution of animal form , 1996 .

[17]  J. Hanken,et al.  The shape of life: Genes, development, and the evolution of animal form: by Rudolf A. Raff University of Chicago Press, 1996. $55.00 hbk, $29.95 pbk (520 pages) ISBN 0 226 70265 0 , 1996 .

[18]  Roderic D. M. Page,et al.  TreeView: an application to display phylogenetic trees on personal computers , 1996, Comput. Appl. Biosci..

[19]  F. Lapointe,et al.  Estimating Phylogenies from Lacunose Distance Matrices: Additive is Superior to Ultrametric Estimation , 1996 .

[20]  R. Raff.  Understanding Evolution: The Next Step. (Book Reviews: The Shape of Life. Genes, Development, and the Evolution of Animal Form.) , 1996 .

[21]  C. Gissi,et al.  The guinea-pig is not a rodent , 1996, Nature.

[22]  T. Rowe,et al.  Fossil evidence for the origin of the marsupial pattern of tooth replacement , 1996, Nature.

[23]  M. Goodman,et al.  Evidence on mammalian phylogeny from sequences of exon 28 of the von Willebrand factor gene. , 1996, Molecular phylogenetics and evolution.

[24]  Michael S. Y. Lee.  Correlated progression and the origin of turtles , 1996, Nature.

[25]  M. Novacek,et al.  Middle-ear ossicles of the multituberculate Kryptobaatar from the Mongolian late Cretaceous : implications for mammaliamorph relationships and the evolution of the auditory apparatus. American Museum novitates ; no. 3187 , 1996 .

[26]  A. Feduccia.  The origin and evolution of birds , 1996 .

[27]  L. Chiappe,et al.  The first 85 million years of avian evolution , 1995, Nature.

[28]  T. Flannery,et al.  A new family of monotremes feom the Creataceous of Australia , 1995, Nature.

[29]  M. Nishida,et al.  Variations in mitochondrial tRNA gene organization of reptiles as phylogenetic markers. , 1995, Molecular biology and evolution.

[30]  Michael S. Y. Lee.  Historical Burden In Systematics And The Interrelationships Of ‘Parareptiles’ , 1995 .

[31]  Michel Laurin,et al.  A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny , 1995 .

[32]  R. Bleiweiss,et al.  CONFIRMATION OF A PORTION OF THE SIBLEY-AHLQUIST "TAPESTRY" , 1995 .

[33]  Kathleen K. Smith.  Development of craniofacial musculature in Monodelphis domestica (marsupialia, didelphidae) , 1994, Journal of morphology.

[34]  F. Lapointe,et al.  Jackknifing of weighted trees: validation of phylogenies reconstructed from distance matrices. , 1994, Molecular phylogenetics and evolution.

[35]  B. Lang,et al.  Evolution of the WANCY region in amniote mitochondrial DNA. , 1994, Molecular biology and evolution.

[36]  S. Hedges,et al.  Molecular evidence for the origin of birds. , 1994, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[37]  J. Pettigrew.  Genomic Evolution: Flying DNA , 1994, Current Biology.

[38]  R. Bleiweiss,et al.  DNA-DNA HYBRIDIZATION EVIDENCE FOR SUBFAMILY STRUCTURE AMONG HUMMINGBIRDS , 1994 .

[39]  Brian G. Gardiner.  HAEMATOTHERMIA: WARM‐BLOODED AMNIOTES , 1993, Cladistics : the international journal of the Willi Hennig Society.

[40]  A. Kluge,et al.  Taxonomic congruence versus total evidence, and amniote phylogeny inferred from fossils, molecules, and morphology. , 1993, Molecular biology and evolution.

[41]  K. K. Smith,et al.  Cranial osteogenesis in Monodelphis domestica (Didelphidae) and Macropus eugenii (Macropodidae) , 1993, Journal of morphology.

[42]  J. Felsenstein,et al.  PHYLIP: phylogenetic inference package version 3.5c. Distributed over the Internet , 1993 .

[43]  Desui Miao.  Cranial Morphology and Multituberculate Relationships , 1993 .

[44]  U. Zeller.  Ontogenetic Evidence for Cranial Homologies in Monotremes and Therians, with Special Reference to Ornithorhynchus , 1993 .

[45]  N. Simmons.  Phylogeny of Multituberculata , 1993 .

[46]  J. Wible,et al.  Basicranial Evidence for Early Mammal Phylogeny , 1993 .

[47]  W. Maier.  Cranial Morphology of the Therian Common Ancestor, as Suggested by the Adaptations of Neonate Marsupials , 1993 .

[48]  M. Archer,et al.  Reconsideration of Monotreme Relationships Based on the Skull and Dentition of the Miocene Obdurodon dicksoni , 1993 .

[49]  T. Rowe.  Phylogenetic Systematics and the Early History of Mammals , 1993 .

[50]  J. Hanken,et al.  Patterns of structural and systematic diversity , 1993 .

[51]  M. Archer,et al.  First discovery of monotremes in South America , 1992, Nature.

[52]  B. Jamieson,et al.  The Phylogenetic Position of the Tuatara, Sphenodon (Sphenodontida, Amniota), as Indicated by Cladistic Analysis of the Ultrastructure of Spermatozoa , 1992 .

[53]  E. G. Strauss,et al.  Molecular phylogeny , 1992, Current Biology.

[54]  M. Springer,et al.  DNA hybridization evidence for the Australasian affinity of the American marsupial Dromiciops australis. , 1991, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[55]  Dan Graur,et al.  Is the guinea-pig a rodent? , 1991, Nature.

[56]  M. Benton.  Origins of the higher groups of tetrapods: controversy and consensus , 1991 .

[57]  L. Trueb,et al.  Vertebrate Transitions. (Book Reviews: Origins of the Higher Groups of Tetrapods. Controversy and Consensus.) , 1991 .

[58]  A. Dickerman,et al.  BOOTSTRAP ANALYSIS OF PHYLOGENETIC TREES DERIVED FROM DNA HYBRIDIZATION DISTANCES , 1990 .

[59]  W F Loomis,et al.  Molecular phylogeny of Dictyostelium discoideum by protein sequence comparison. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[60]  S. Hedges,et al.  Tetrapod phylogeny inferred from 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA sequences and a review of the evidence for amniote relationships. , 1990, Molecular biology and evolution.

[61]  J. Wible.  Petrosals of Late Cretaceous marsupials from North America, and a cladistic analysis of the petrosal in therian mammals , 1990 .

[62]  U. Zeller,et al.  Developmental evidence for dental homologies in the monotreme Ornithorhynchus and its systematic implications , 1989 .

[63]  Timothy B. Rowe,et al.  Definition, diagnosis, and origin of Mammalia , 1988 .

[64]  Arnold G. Kluge,et al.  AMNIOTE PHYLOGENY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSSILS , 1988, Cladistics : the international journal of the Willi Hennig Society.

[65]  Elliott Sober,et al.  Likelihood and Convergence , 1988, Philosophy of Science.

[66]  Robert L. Carroll,et al.  Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution , 1988 .

[67]  Thomas Kemp.  Haemothermia or Archosauria? The interrelationships of mammals, birds and crocodiles , 1988 .

[68]  P. D. M. Klima.  Early Development of the Shoulder Girdle and Sternum in Marsupials (Mammalia: Metatheria) , 1987, Advances in Anatomy Embryology and Cell Biology.

[69]  W. Maier.  The ontogenetic development of the orbitotemporal region in the skull of Monodelphis domestica (Didelphidae, marsupialia), and the problem of the mammalian alisphenoid , 1987 .

[70]  S. Løvtrup.  On the Classification of the Taxon Tetrapoda , 1985 .

[71]  T. Flannery,et al.  First Mesozoic mammal from Australia—an early Cretaceous monotreme , 1985, Nature.

[72]  M. Benton.  Classification and phylogeny of the diapsid reptiles , 1985 .

[73]  S. Moody.  Charles L. Camp and His 1923 Classification of Lizards: An Early Cladist? , 1985 .

[74]  L. Vitt,et al.  Eutherian-like reproductive specializations in a viviparous reptile. , 1984, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[75]  I. Hume.  Digestive Physiology and Nutrition of Marsupials , 1982 .

[76]  P. Mein.  mammal-like Reptiles and the Origin of Mammals, T.S. Kemp. Academic Press., Chichester (1982), Prix: £ 24.00, $ 49.50, ISBN: 0-12-404120-5 , 1982 .

[77]  G. Simpson,et al.  A Refreshed Orthodox View of Paleobiogeography of South American Mammals@@@Splendid Isolation. The Curious History of South American Mammals , 1981 .

[78]  M. Griffiths.  The Biology of the Monotremes , 2012 .

[79]  J. Felsenstein.  Cases in which Parsimony or Compatibility Methods will be Positively Misleading , 1978 .

[80]  D. Bechler,et al.  Herpetology. , 2020, Science.

[81]  W. Kühne.  On the Marsupionta, a reply to Dr. Parrington , 1977 .

[82]  M. Goodman,et al.  Molecular Anthropology: Genes and Proteins in the Evolutionary Ascent of the Primates , 1978 .

[83]  John H. Ostrom,et al.  Archaeopteryx and the origin of birds , 1976 .

[84]  J. E. Cronin,et al.  Molecular Systematics of the Primates , 1976 .

[85]  J. Lillegraven.  BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THE MARSUPIAL‐PLACENTAL DICHOTOMY , 1975, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[86]  E. Holmes.  A reconsideration of the phylogeny of the tetrapod heart , 1975, Journal of morphology.

[87]  A. Crompton,et al.  Mammals from Reptiles: A Review of Mammalian Origins , 1973 .

[88]  G. Sharman.  Reproductive physiology of marsupials. , 1970, Science.

[89]  R Kittel,et al.  [Anatomy of vertebrates]. , 1968, Fortschritte der Zoologie.

[90]  G. Macintyre.  FORAMEN PSEUDOVALE AND QUASI‐MAMMALS , 1967, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[91]  L. Cavalli-Sforza,et al.  PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS: MODELS AND ESTIMATION PROCEDURES , 1967, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[92]  A. Birnbaum.  On the Foundations of Statistical Inference , 1962 .

[93]  A. Romer.  Osteology of the Reptiles , 1957 .

[94]  W. K. Gregory.  Evolution emerging : a survey of changing patterns from primeval life to man , 1951 .

[95]  D. Watson.  Vertebrate Paleontology , 1946, Nature.

[96]  A. Romer.  Notes and comments on vertebrate paleontology , 1945 .

[97]  H. Green.  The Development and Morphology of the Teeth of Ornithorhynchus , 1937 .

[98]  A. Hrdliccaronka.  ORGANIC EVOLUTION. , 1930, Science.

[99]  John H. Ostrom,et al.  The Origin of Birds , 1926 .

[100]  J. GRAHAM KERR,et al.  The Osteology of the Reptiles , 1926, Nature.

[101]  W. K. Gregory.  On The “Habitus” and “Heritage” of Cænolestes , 1922 .

[102]  S. Williston.  The Phylogeny and Classification of Reptiles , 1917, The Journal of Geology.

[103]  E. Goodrich.  On the Classification of the Reptilia , 1916 .

[104]  D. Watson.  The Monotreme Skull: A Contribution to Mammalian Morphogenesis , 1916 .

[105]  J. A.,et al.  The Origin of Mammals , 1911, Nature.

[106]  T. Huxley.  On the Animals which are most nearly intermediate between Birds and Reptiles , 1868 .

[107]  W. K. Gregory,et al.  THE MONOTREMES AND THE : PALIMPSEST THEORY , 2022 .

[108]  N. Gemmel.  Phylogenetic Relationships Within the Class Mammalia : A Study Using Mitochondrial 12 S RNA Sequences , 2022 .