The chief problem to a geologist over the BSC is that no one has ever seen
fossils mate though Beverley Halstead tried to act it out wearing a dinosaur
suit.
I am fully aware of the problems of definition which in itself negates the
fixity of species.
To continue in the same vein. One of the first to challenge the fixity of
species was The Hon and Very Rev William Herbert, the Dean of Manchester
Cathedral. Darwin visited him in May 1847 and the poor old dean died a few
hours later. History of science is fun!
Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jonathan Clarke" <jdac@alphalink.com.au>
Cc: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 9:35 PM
Subject: Re: Examples of new species
> Hi Jim (and Michael)
>
> Mayr gives a worthy defense of the biological species concept (BSC). It
has
> many merits, but also some practical problems. The BSC is also difficult
to
> apply to asexual reproducing creatures and fossil organisms. Support for
the
> BSC appears strongest among veterbrate zoologists and entomologists (Mayr
is an
> ornithologist), none of which are truly asexual (although some are
> parthnogenic). Botanists, palaeontologists, and coral taxonomists (to
name just
> a few) have problems with the the BSC.
>
> There are at least eight different definitions of species out there: folk,
> biological, morphological, genetic, palaeontological, evolutionary,
phylogenetic
> and biosystematic. Joseph Boxhorn, in the first link I gave
> <http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html> has a short but
useful
> review of four of these, folk, biological, morphological, and
phylogenetic.
>
> respectfully
>
> Jon
>
> "Hofmann, Jim" wrote:
>
> > Here's an on-line article that addresses some of the relevant issues:
> >
> > "What is a Species, and What is Not?"
> > by ERNST MAYR
> >
> > http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/dbsr/EVOLUT/mayr.htm
> >
> > Jim Hofmann
> > Philosophy Department and Liberal Studies Program
> > California State University Fullerton
> >
http://nsmserver2.fullerton.edu/departments/chemistry/evolution_creation/web
> >
> >
>
>
>
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