25 September 2015
Response to Comment on "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds".
Published in Science by Jon Fjeldså, Carsten Rahbek and co-authors.
Mitchell et al. argue that divergence-time estimates for our avian phylogeny were too young because of an "inappropriate" maximum age constraint for the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and that, as a result, most modern bird orders diverged before the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event 66 million years ago instead of after. However, their interpretations of the fossil record and timetrees are incorrect.
Link to article
Link to responsed article: Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds