Re: Quo vadis, T. rex? [long]

["Nicholas J. Pharris" <pharrinj@PLU.edu>]

On Fri, 9 Feb 1996 Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 96-02-09 01:56:30 EST, pharrinj@PLU.edu (Nicholas J.
> Pharris) writes:
> 
> >But there is no ancestor-descendant relation between a parataxon and a 
> >"daughter taxon."  The latter is simply a part of the diversity of the 
> >former.  Do you get what I'm saying here?
> 
> Certainly there is. And indeed it is part of the diversity of the former. Do
> you get what I'm saying here?

I understand that the ancestor of the daughter taxon is to be found 
somewhere in the parataxon, but so are a lot of other animals not 
directly ancestral to the daughter taxon.  As I see it, it is better 
simply to look at the daughter taxon as part of the radiatin of 
forms in the parataxon, which then, as an added benefit, becomes 
monophyletic.

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(206)535-8204
PharriNJ@PLU.edu

"If you can't convince them, confuse them." -- Harry S Truman