1988/01/01 by Ulf Sörhannus, Eugene J. Fenster, Lloyd H. Burckle +1 · 3 citations
Materials Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Diatoms and Algae Research #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Marine and coastal ecosystems #Lineage (genetic) #Punctuated equilibrium #Biology #Morphology (biology) #Period (music) #Paleontology #Evolutionary biology
paper · doi:10.1080/08912968809386474
openalex publication_date 1988/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Biometric analysis of a late Pliocene planktic diatom morphospecies, Rhizosolenia praebergonii Mukhina, from the equatorial Pacific Ocean indicates that it represents a lineage which underwent relatively rapid change in morphology after its first appearance (3–1–2–7 Ma) followed by a period of time where the rate (as expressed as a slope) of morphological change was not significantly different from zero (2–7–1–7 Ma). Based on criteria for identifying ancestral‐descendant relationships (Prothero and Lazarus, 1980), we conclude that R. praebergonii evolved from R. bergonii Peragallo via a cladogenetic event. The observed pattern of evolution conforms to the shifting balance model of evolution, rather than to a punctuated model. Isotopic evidence suggests that paleoclimatic events may have played a role in the onset of the period of stasis.