SPB Academic Publishing bv, The Hague Fossils and decapod phylogeny

An expanded series ofmorphological characters developedfor a cladistic analysis ofextant decapods has yielded a new hypo-thesis for the phylogeny ofthe group. Application of this data-base to selected fossil genera produces some interesting results and demonstrates the feasibility of treating fossils as full and equal partners in the study ofdecapod phylogeneticrelationships. In addition, it seems clear that rigorous cladistic methods can be used to evaluate the phylogenetic positions of fossils, rather than ad hoc speculation