The Generic Position and Phylogeny of Some Jurassic Arcidae

Abstract

The following observations are the result of working over the Middle Jurassic Arcidae with a view to monographic treatment of the Corallian and Bathonian species. The monographs must of necessity be slow in appearing, and in any case they are not the place to discuss the broader conclusions to which the investigations have led. The family is one full of interest from an evolutionary point of view, but an exceptionally involved maze of controversial matter, chiefly concerning nomenclature, by which the Arcidae have been burdened, has obscured the features of interest and the phylogeny.