Re: Fwd: A Clutter of Duckbills

[Robert.J.Meyerson@uwrf.edu (Rob Meyerson)]

> People argue so much as to which dinosaur species goes where, and names
>are changed and species moved so frequently that, until a new criteria is
>developed, it would be BEST to put each dinosaur species in its own genus!

When it comes down to it, we paleo-types are forced to deal with genera=
 anyway (if we are going to be reliable).  A biological species is defined=
 by whether the animals in a population will breed under natural conditions,=
 and derive fertile offspring; something that is impossible to determine=
 from the fossil record.  I believe the quote is, "A paleontological genus =
=3D biological species."

Modern biologists often have a very difficult time applying the species=
 definition to living groups.  They simply can't throw two critters into a=
 tank together and see if they will breed, because that violates the=
 "natural conditions" rule (can you tell I just had an exam on this ;-) =
 Let's face it, if people studying modern animals have trouble telling what=
 is a species, how much more difficult is our task.  It will take hard work=
 and good imaginations to tackle these riddles.

Rob

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Would a Night Mare be considered a galloping pun?