Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 April 2016
The mean taxon duration, , and the 50 percent point of the Lyellian curve, T50, are directly proportional to one another:
. However, there is a disagreement in the literature over the correct value of the proportionality constant, C. Various authors have claimed that C ≈ 1.44, C = 2.00 and C ≈ 2.89. I critically examine the assumptions underlying these three choices of C and argue that C ≈ 1.44, which is based on an exponential model of survivorship, is more widely applicable than the other values of C.
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