The Linnaean binomial nomenclature in palaeontology: Its use in the case of rodents (Mammalia, Rodentia)

Many species concepts have been proposed, but biologists and palaeontologists can use the same concept to interpret present and past biodiversity as well as evolution at the species level. But the present development of many disciplines creates the opportunity of reciprocal enlightenment of the pictures obtained of species according to different criteria: morphology, hybridization, and affiliation. Observations of long (geological) and short (biological, ecological) time intervals can consequently be more easily integrated. The increase in number of developmental studies is also an important event for understanding morphological evolution. In this context, the present work aims to comment on a few studies done on rodents (Rodentia, Mammalia), which successively deal with species recognition, estimation of past biodiversity, and the pictures given by fossils of morphological evolution.