Homology among divergent Paleozoic tetrapod clades

A stringent definition of homology is necessary to establish phylogenetic relationships among Paleozoic amphibians. Many derived characters exhibited by divergent clades of Carboniferous lepospondyls resemble those achieved convergently among Cenozoic squamates that have elongate bodies and reduced limbs, and by lineages of modern amphibians that have undergone miniaturization. Incongruent character distribution, poorly resolved cladograms and functionally improbable character transformations determined by phylogenetic analysis suggest that convergence was also common among Paleozoic amphibians with a skull length under 3 cm, including lepospondyls, early amniotes and the putative ancestors of modern amphibians. For this reason, it is injudicious to equate apparent synapomorphy (perceived common presence of a particular derived character in two putative sister-taxa) with strict homology of phylogenetic origin. Identification of homology by the similarity of structure, anatomical position and pattern of development is insufficient to establish the synapomorphy of bone and limb loss or precocial ossification of vertebral centra, which are common among small Paleozoic amphibians. The only way in which synapomorphies can be established definitively is through the discovery and recognition of the trait in question in basal members of each of the clades under study, and in their immediate common ancestors.