Diversification rate is one of the most important metrics in macroecological and
macroevolutionary studies. Here I demonstrate that diversification analyses can be
misleading when researchers assume that diversity increases unbounded through time, as
is typical in molecular phylogenetic studies. If clade diversity is regulated by ecological
factors, then species richness may be independent of clade age and it may not be possible
to infer the rate at which diversity arose. This has substantial consequences for the …