THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSSILS IN ELUCIDATING THE PHYLOGENY AND MACROEVOLUTION OF FORAMINIFERA

Molecular systematics has revolutionized our understanding of the placement of Foraminifera on the Tree of Life; however, molecular phylogenies depict crown clades only, and thus cannot evaluate the evolutionary relationships of extinct taxa to modern species. This study summarizes the results of a cladistic analysis of fossil and recent foraminiferans, including representative taxa from Paleozoic Lagenina, Paleozoic Fusulinida, and Mesozoic Involutinina. The resulting consensus trees are used to discuss morphological character evolution and evolutionary trends in Foraminifera. A phylogenetic nomenclature of the major clades of multi-chambered Foraminifera is proposed, and compared to traditional classification schemes of Foraminifera that are rooted in evolutionary systematics (or evolutionary taxonomy), as well as to more recent tree-based names derived from molecular phylogenies.