Diversification rates

Diversification rates can be estimated from fossils, data on the species diversity of clades and their ages, or phylogenetic trees.

A broad range of studies have demonstrated that diversification rates can vary tremendously both through time and across the tree of life.

Current research efforts are focused on predicting diversification rates based on aspects of species or their environment.

Many estimates of diversification rates for fossil lineages are for higher-level taxonomic groups like genera or families.

Various methods are available to estimate speciation and extinction rates from phylogenetic trees using both maximum likelihood and Bayesian statistical approaches.