Mind the Outgroup: Influence of Taxon Sampling on Total-Evidence Dating of Pimpliform Parasitoid Wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)
T. Spasojevic, G. R. Broad, I. Saaksjarvi, M. Schwarz, M. Ito, S. Korenko, S. Klopfstein
This study shows that including more distant and poorly sampled outgroups in total-evidence dating makes age estimates older and less precise, and introduces an artefact called 'bare-branch attraction' that affects fossil placement.
bioRxiv · Nov 4, 2019 · PreprintZoology