The phylogeny of the Felidae is reconstructed using a total evidence approach combining sequences from 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, NADH‐5, and cytochrome b genes with morphological and karyological characters. The 1504‐character data set generated two equally parsimonious trees (CI = 0.413, 1795 steps) of which a strict consensus revealed one polytomy in the placement of the bay cat group. The tree supports several traditional groupings such as the genera Panthera and Lynx and the ocelot group of small South American felids, and it provides additional resolution of relationships within and among the major felid lineages. Combining phylogenetic, distributional, and ecological data indicates that vicariant speciation has played a relatively minor role in the diversification of the felids (approximately 26% of events), while sympatric speciation has been more important than expected on theoretical grounds (approximately 51.8% of events), although postspeciation dispersal may have blurred the boundaries between sympatric, parapatric, and peripheral isolate modes. An examination of ecological changes on the felid tree shows repeated patterns of resource partitioning in time (activity patterns), space (preferred habitat type), and food (as measured by body size) among closely related species. The rapid diversification of the cats thus appears to have been associated more with ecological than with geological separation.

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Genealogical relationships among the five genera of stick-the subject of intense experimental and theoretical inleback (Gasterosteidae: Smegmomorpha) fishes were vestigation for more than 60 years (Pelkwijk and Tinreconstructed based upon 47 behavioral and 89 morpho- bergen, 1937;Wootton, 1976Wootton, , 1984, and references logical characters. Phylogenetic systematic analysis of therein), which has led to the accumulation of an extenthe combined data set produced a single MPT (consis-sive behavioral, morphological, and ecological datatency index of 82.54%) structured (Spinachia(Apeltesbase. The size of the database notwithstanding, at-((Pungitius ؉ Culaea)(Gasterosteus aculeatus ؉ G.tempts to determine the genealogical relationships wheatlandi)))). When analyzed separately, both behavwithin the family have had a volatile history. All auioral and morphological data sets produced the same thors agree that the Gasterosteidae comprises five gentree topology, although the consistency index (excluding era residing in north temperate habitats. Spinachia, uninformative characters) was higher for the behavioral Apeltes, and Culaea are monotypic and geographically (90.70%) than for the morphological (68.13%) characrestricted. Spinachia spinachia inhabits the shallow ters. This total evidence analysis provides a highly robust coastal waters of Western Europe, Apeltes quadracus is estimate of phylogeny for the sticklebacks and reiterates a brackish-water species distributed across the eastern the importance of discarding a priori biases about behavcoast of North America from the Gaspé Basin of Queioral evolution when selecting characters for phylogebec to Virginia, and Culaea inconstans is restricted to netic analysis. ᭧ 2001 The Willi Hennig Society freshwaters in the heartland of North America. Pungitius and Gasterosteus, on the other hand, are both geographically widespread and morphologically variable. Sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae) are small, bony plated At least three species of Pungitius are recognized, P. neoteleost fishes renowned for their intricate courtship pungitius (the ninespine stickleback), P. tymensis (redances and vibrant nuptial coloration. They have been stricted to the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaido: Takata et al., 1984), and P. hellenicus (restricted to three sites in the Sperchios drainage, Greece: Keivany et al.,

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