A revolution in paleontological taxonomy

Fossils were, from the very beginning, identified mainly on the basis of their morphological characteristics. Their taxonomic relations are thus based on morphology as well. This is not different from the situation in (present-day) biology, but a revolution in biological taxonomy is ahead: new technologies allow the precise analysis of biochemical characteristics, which appear to be strongly related to evolutionary developments. This new approach in biology may turn the taxonomic status of numerous groups upside down. In paleontology, where the number of known species is so much smaller than in biology, a similar taxonomic revolution might deepen our insights in evolution even more. So far, however, too little attention is paid to the `biochemical taxonomyʹ of fossils.