Discrimination Of Fenestrate Bryozoan Genera In Morphospace

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Steven J. Hageman Ph.D., Professor (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/

Abstract: Concepts for generic diagnoses and discrimination of biserial fenestrate Bryozoa (Fenestellidae) have varied historically, but have largely been based on specialized colony forms (e.g., Archimedes), the shape and budding arrangement of chambers and other internal skeletal features such as hemisepta, and occasionally on the presence or absence of discrete characters, such as placement of nodes on the frontal surface (e.g., Minilya). The question remains as to whether biserial fenestrate genera represent real biological clades, or whether they are convenient groupings of morphotypes based on untested characters. This study evaluates the distribution of 1075 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from 15 fenestrate genera with measurements for nine morphometric characters – external features are not emphasized in most generic diagnoses. Here, each OTU represents a composite or idealized individual from a colony. Results show that OTUs plotted in principal component space do largely form coherent clusters based on a priori generic assignments. Thus the groupings based on characters other than the ones used to originally define them, add support to the notion of biological significance for recognized genera.

Additional Information

Publication
Hageman SJ, McKinney FK. Discrimination of fenestrate bryozoan genera in morphospace. Palaeontologia Electronica. 2010;13(2). Publisher version of record available at: http://palaeo-electronica.org/2010_2/206/206.pdf
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
biserial fenestrate Bryozoa (Fenestellidae) , morphology, paleontology, biology, skeletal features

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