= Diversification rate
A <diversification rate> describes change in the number of evolutionary lineages. Under a simple branching model with <speciation> rate $\lambda$ and <extinction> rate $\mu$, net diversification is $r=\lambda-\mu$. Equal net rates can therefore arise from slow turnover or from rapid <speciation> accompanied by rapid <extinction>.
An observed accumulation of living lineages does not uniquely identify both component rates. <Fossils> can supply additional evidence about extinct branches, with <taphonomy> and sampling affecting which histories are observed.
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