An Emperical Synthetic Pattern Study of Gars (Lepisosteiformes) and Closely Related Species, Based Mostly on Skeletal Anatomy the Resurrection of Holostei

Abstract

Using primarily skeletal anatomy of extant and fossil species, Grande demonstrates how traditional comparative biology can still be used to resolve important phylogenetic questions in the age of molecular phylogenies. [...] Grande makes the strong case that it was a fossil group, the newly described obaichthyids, or "spiny gars," that served as the missing link providing evidence of a strong phylogenetic relationship between bowfins and gars (Holostei).