ABSTRACT
Our perception of the phylogeny of life on this planet is still based on Darwin's seminal insight that 'probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from one primordial form into which life was first breathed' (Darwin, 1859). The acceptance and popularisation of Darwin's message was distinctly promoted by Haeckel's (1866) universal dichotomously branched phylogenetic tree, the first figural presentation of the then supposed genealogical relationships among all groups of organisms known at that time. Although this tree has been modified in numerous details, its principles have essentially remained accepted (Whittaker, 1969) even after the prokaryoteeukaryote distinction (Chatton, 1938) and the endosymbiotic nature ofthe main organelles of the eukaryotic cell (comprehensively reviewed by Herrmann, 1997) became known.
