| Abstract: | Much cladistic theory is flawed because it confuses two temporal sequences: 1. cladogenetic (branching) chronology; 2. anagenetic (primitive-advanced) polarity. The first is largely inherent and exposed by a straigram; the second requires an independent polarisation of the changes subsequent to cladogenetic branchings. Failure to consistently distinguish between these always causes confusion, but destroys cladistic theory, because plesiomorphy and apomorphy refer to anagenesis, and autapomorphy and synapomorphy refer to cladogenetis. They cannot, however, be identified wholly independently, because cladogenetic chronology establishes anagenetic polarity by out-grouping, under limited conditions; and anagenetic polarity establishes cladogenetic chronology in multiple cladistic events. The principle ‘common characters are primitive’ is more accurately expressed as ‘characters of greater s read are cladogenetically earlier', and establishes cladogenetic relationships, never anagenetic polarity as usually thought. The full temporal analysis of biological patterns, therefore, involves eight stages: 1. Homologue identification; 2. Homolostrata delimitation and definition; 3. Stratigram formation; 4. Cladogenetic sequencing; 5. Anagenetic polarity determination (chronogramy); 6. Cladogenetic and anagenetic co-analysis; 7. Cladogram construction; 8. Phylogenetic interpretation. |
