Over the past decade, a new set of methods for estimating dated trees has emerged.
Originally referred to as the fossilized birth–death (FBD) process, this single model has …

Time-calibrated phylogenies of extant species (referred to here as 'extant timetrees') are
widely used for estimating diversification dynamics. However, there has been considerable …

The fossil and geologic records provide the primary data used to established absolute
timescales for timetrees. For the paleontological evaluation of proposed timetree timescales …

Flowering plants (angiosperms) are the most diverse of all land plants, becoming abundant
in the Cretaceous and achieving dominance in the Cenozoic. However, the exact timing of …

The fossil record of the origins of major groups such as animals and birds has generated
considerable controversy, especially when it conflicts with timings based on molecular clock …

Palaeontologists have long sought to explain the diversification of individual clades to whole
biotas at global scales. Advances in our understanding of the spatial distribution of the fossil …

Recent renewed interest in using fossil data to understand how biotic interactions have
shaped the evolution of life is challenging the widely held assumption that long-term climate …

The fact that rapid brain size increase was clearly a key aspect of human evolution has
prompted many studies focusing on this phenomenon, and many suggestions as to the …

The spectacular variation in species forms and richness across space and time can be
explored using sophisticated and powerful tools recently developed by evolutionary …

Measuring the pace at which speciation and extinction occur is fundamental to
understanding the origin and evolution of biodiversity. Both the fossil record and molecular …