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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