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Re: Fwd: Adios, "Brachiosaurus" brancai



On 11/09/2009, John Wilkins <john.s.wilkins@gmail.com> wrote:  

> Arguing over genera is like arguing over how 
> best to put books on a shelf.

There are many good ways to put books on a shelf, but there 
is only one true taxonomy. We'll never know exactly what 
it is, but that's beside the point. 

The purpose of taxonomy is to help us better understand the 
relationships between organisms, so the more detailed the 
hierarchy, the better. Terms like "subgenus" are fine if 
they can be applied with some degree of reliability. On 
the other hand, doing away with genus or species would 
make a real mess. It simply ain't gonna happen. 

It is true that there are probably too many monospecific 
dinosaur genera right now, but that doesn't mean that 
"species" or "genus" should be disposed of. What it means 
is that more work needs to be done. 

Paul Penkalski

-----------------
Somewhere off the 
coast of Tonga