Amniote phylogeny and the position of turtles

Abstract

The position of turtles among amniotes remains in dispute, with morphological and molecular comparisons giving different results. Morphological analyses align turtles with either lizards and their relatives, or at the base of the reptile tree, whereas molecular analyses, including a recent study by Chiari et al. in BMC Biology, place turtles with birds and crocodilians. Molecular studies have not wavered as the numbers of genes and species have increased, but morphologists have been reluctant to embrace the molecular tree.Please see Research article www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/10/65. © 2012 Hedges; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.