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Phylogeny, natural groups and nemertean classification

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Abstract

Contemporary practice in the classification of nemerteans (phylum Nemertea) is critically discussed. It is argued that basing higher taxa on the existence of a unique combination of characters in a species (or genus) is unlikely to lead to monophyletic taxa, and that this approach should be abandoned in favour of a classification based on explicit hypotheses of phylogeny. These hypotheses should be based on all available characters and characters should not be excluded before the analysis. The classification should be based on a reconstruction of the phylogeny and reflect this phylogeny in an unambiquous way.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18, S-413 90, Göteborg, Sweden

    Per Sundberg

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Sundberg, P. Phylogeny, natural groups and nemertean classification. Hydrobiologia 266, 103–113 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00013362

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