Lions, and tigers, and snow leopards! Oh, my!

One of the interesting aspects ensuing from the rise of molecular phylogenetics is that the trees are generally concordant in broad strokes with older research which was based on morphology. This is not too surprising, as nature does tend to show some intelligible patterns which can be cross-checked with different methods (e.g., the fact of evolutionary change in the tree of life is evident in both the paleontological record and analysis of molecular genetic variation). Additionally, the cladistic revolution has produced a general uniformity of underlying logic when it comes to systematic analysis. Genes can complement analyses utilizing classical morphological traits. But obviously sometimes what surprises and exhibits discordance can also inform. The controversy about the relationship of Archaea to other branches of the tree of life illustrate how molecular techniques can overturn old orthodoxies on a grand scale, though it is also probably informative that this sort of taxonomic ...