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Homology, Characters, and Morphometric Data

  • Chapter
Fossils, Phylogeny, and Form

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 19))

Abstract

The use of quantitative shape data in phylogenetic studies has been challenged on several grounds, the most important being that hypotheses of homology cannot apply to them. Two premises underlie that argument: (1) quantitative data comprise a single homogeneous class, and (2) qualitative and quantitative data are fundamentally different. The first premise is problematic because some morphometric variables are constrained to compare homologous features of organisms, whereas others are not. Those that are so constrained, including traditional measurement data, shape coordinates and partial warps, yield features that can be assessed for their similarities and differences, and the resulting hypotheses of homology can be tested for their congruence with the cladogram. Those variables that are not so constrained, including most outline-based variables as well as multivariate constructs such as principal components and canonical variates, may be useful tools discriminating and sorting taxa by overall similarities in shape, but not for dis-covering characters. The second premise is also problematic because the same logic and methods apply to both qualitative and quantitative data alike. Thus, if care is taken to ensure that morphometric comparisons are framed in terms of homology, there is no barrier to using quantitative variables in phylogenetic studies, especially those produced by geometric morphometrics. Not only are they tools for describing shape differences, they are also tools for understanding the evolutionary history of shape.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

    Miriam Leah Zelditch

  2. Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

    Donald L. Swiderski

  3. Department of Biology and Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

    William L. Fink

Authors
  1. Miriam Leah Zelditch
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  2. Donald L. Swiderski
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  3. William L. Fink
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

    Jonathan M. Adrain

  2. Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Gregory D. Edgecombe

  3. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    Bruce S. Lieberman

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Zelditch, M.L., Swiderski, D.L., Fink, W.L. (2001). Homology, Characters, and Morphometric Data. In: Adrain, J.M., Edgecombe, G.D., Lieberman, B.S. (eds) Fossils, Phylogeny, and Form. Topics in Geobiology, vol 19. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0571-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0571-6_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5137-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0571-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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