Re: Paradoxically temporal

["Allan Edels" <edels@email.msn.com>]

George:

    I think you misunderstood the intent of my posting.  I was saying that
*YOUR* definition (i.e.

    ">The time to declare that a new species has arrived is when a
well-defined
    >evolutionary novelty appears in a population, even if (as is generally
the
    >case) there is no associated cladogenetic split. Since all we have is
hindsight,
    >morphology, and the fossil record for paleo-species, this is the best
we can do,
    >as far as drawing lines between species goes."   ),

    seems to fit best.

    I was saying that there are problems with OTHER definitions, such as the
'Ability to Mate' rule, and I gave examples of exceptions (where
inter-species mating results in viable, fertile off-spring...).

    Sorry about misleading you..

        Allan Edels


-----Original Message-----
From: Dinogeorge@aol.com <Dinogeorge@aol.com>
To: edels@email.msn.com <edels@email.msn.com>; dinosaur@usc.edu
<dinosaur@usc.edu>
Date: Saturday, July 25, 1998 3:50 PM
Subject: Re: Paradoxically temporal


>In a message dated 98-07-25 04:23:50 EDT, edels@email.msn.com writes:
>
><< This definition for speciation fits best, considering all the problems
> with other definitions:  E.g. Ability to mate - Tigers and Lions are
> separate and distinct species, yet they can mate, and their offspring
> (Ligers, and Tigons) occasionally can sucessfully mate as well.  (By
> sucessful I mean resultant offspring). >>
>
>I have yet to see two fossils mate successfully and/or produce a viable
>offspring. How, then, do we talk about species for fossils?