Evolution in the Fossil Record

Our geological timescale based on stratigraphy and morphology for invertebrate evolution will be useful in calibrating local geological timescales and in estimating divergence times more reliably, especially in groups with poor fossil records. These morphological divergence times also provide an independent measure of the tempo and mode of morphological change. An accurate knowledge of divergence times can provide a clue to ‘missing’ fossils and thus enable the testing of various hypotheses of evolution in deep time.