Article: Biotic diversification in the Phanerozoic: diversity independence

The concept of global taxonomic diversity tending to an equilibrium state is central to many macroevolutionary hypotheses. It is widely accepted and considered to be corroborated by quantitative models of biotic diversification in the Phanerozoic. Those models assume diversity dependence of the rates of extinction and origination of taxa. This basic assumption, however, is contradicted by the empirical data. The process of diversification may depend on historical contingencies rather than on general macroevolutionary laws.