The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis in the fossil record

• The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) has recently emerged as a theoretical alternative or complement to the Modern Synthesis (MS) in which to frame evolutionary observations and interpretations. The theoretical framework of the EES places a greater evolutionary significance on a number of controversial hypotheses and processes, such as phenotypic plasticity and genetic assimilation, and makes a number of empirical predictions based thereon. Investigation and empirical exploration of these predictions has begun in a neontological context yet the field of palaeontology has not yet been instrumental in developing or testing these predictions. Here the hypothetical process of evolution via phenotypic plasticity and genetic assimilation is explained and contextualised to the fossil record. A prediction of the EES specific to palaeontological data is formulated and methods suitable for its empirical testing are suggested.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

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