Tectonostratigraphic terrane relationships: A glimpse into the Caribbean under a cladistic approach

Forty one geological features were coded as cladistic binary characters and analyzed using a parsimony algorithm in order to infer the historical relationships among 24 Caribbean tectonostratigraphic terranes. The cladistic analysis produced two equally parsimonious geological area cladograms. The strict consensus cladogram depicts the group of allochthonous tectonostratigraphic terranes as a monophyletic group reflecting historical relationships that agree roughly with a Pacific origin of the Caribbean plate. We conclude that the cladistic method represents a promising analytical tool to be used in historical geology as well as a common language useful to compare geological and biogeographical results.

► Cladistics is applied to analyze the Caribbean tectonostratigraphic terranes.
► A geological area cladogram groups the allochthonous terranes.
► Cladistics is a promising analytical tool for testing geological hypotheses.