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Micropaleontology pp 53–65Cite as

Morphology, Taxonomy and Concepts of Species

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Abstract

Morphology is an essential trait in the classification and identification of the living world. Paleontologists classify the organisms, name them and determine their evolutionary and geographic relationships. The chapter discusses how to describe morphology, distinguish microfossils and infer phylogenetic relationships by cladistic analysis. The quantitative approach to morphology, numerical taxonomy and various concepts of species are discussed. Cladistic analysis is explained with an example of foraminifera. A list of common databases in taxonomy and software for morphological analysis is provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India

    Pratul Kumar Saraswati

  2. Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    M. S. Srinivasan

Authors
  1. Pratul Kumar Saraswati
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  2. M. S. Srinivasan
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Saraswati, P.K., Srinivasan, M.S. (2016). Morphology, Taxonomy and Concepts of Species. In: Micropaleontology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14574-7_4

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