Diamond and homonids

[Stang1996@aol.com]

<<I think it is very likely that the genus Homo originated from within
the group of species we classify as Australopithecus, even if the
actual immediate predecessor is unknown.>>

And just to stir things up (especially for all you cladists) Jared Diamond
proposed in "The Third Chimpanzee" doing away with the genera
_Austalopithicus_, _Paranthropis_, and _Pan_ because according to genetics we
are closer to chimps (and so, presumibly are _Australopithicus_ and
_Paranthropis_ also) then many species (like the two types of gibbons for
example) that are in the same genus, so he proposed that chimps be put in the
genus Homo and accused cladists of not doing so already because of
uniformitarianism.  I sort of agree with him, but I think that _Pan_ should
remain a distinct genus because it has diferences in its skull (I think some
notch or something), and also, I'm not (as I've stated before) to
enthusiastic towards cladistics.

Peter Buchholz
Stang1996@aol.com