Monocot Fossils Suitable for Molecular Dating Analyses
bs_bs_banner Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 178, 346–374. With 1 figure INVITED REVIEW Monocot fossils suitable for molecular dating analyses WILLIAM J. D. ILES1,2*, SELENA Y. SMITH3, MARIA A. GANDOLFO4 and SEAN W. GRAHAM1 1Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4 2University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Bldg, Berkeley, CA 94720-3070, USA 3Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences and Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, 2534 CC Little Bldg, 1100 North University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1005, USA 4LH Bailey Hortorium, Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, 410 Mann Library Bldg, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA Received 6 June 2014; revised 3 October 2014; accepted for publication 7 October 2014 Recent re-examinations and new fossil findings have added significantly to the data available for evaluating the evolutionary history of the monocotyledons. Integrating data from the monocot fossil record with molecular dating techniques has the potential to help us to understand better the timing of important evolutionary events and patterns of diversification and extinction in this major and ancient clade of flowering plants. In general, the oldest well-placed fossils are used to constrain the age of nodes in molecular dating analyses. However, substantial error can be introduced if calibration fossils are not carefully evaluated and selected. Here we propose a set of 34 fossils representing 19 families and eight orders for calibrating the ages of major monocot clades. We selected these fossils because they can be placed in particular clades with confidence and they come from well-dated stratigraphic sequences.
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