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The classic operational definition of different species, as far as I remember, is that cross-breading between species is not possible.
by dschiptsov 10y ago
The classic operational definition of different species, as far as I remember, is that cross-breading between species is not possible.
- achr2 10y agoIt's a very blurred line.
- micahbright 10y agoIt's really just a social construct.
- seanc 10y agoMy understanding was that they might be able to crossbreed, but offspring are not fertile, e.g. hybrids such as mules and ligers.
- alexbock 10y agoTwo individuals may be capable of breeding and reliably producing fertile offspring but still be considered different species if they would never mate "naturally". This may be due to geography, different mating seasons, different songs or appearances, etc.
- dschiptsov 10y agoSo, are there different species of people?)
- frozenport 10y agoNot if you consider alcohol.
- openasocket 10y agoIf only it was! But then we discovered "ring species" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_species https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_species) which threw a monkey wrench into what was once a simple definition. Basically, there are populations of animals A, B and C, where A and B can inter-breed, B and C can inter-breed, but A and C can't. So our definition of species no longer satisfies the transitive property, and it all falls apart. As far as I know, this issue hasn't yet been satisfactorily answered in the case of ring species.
- danieltillett 10y agoA species is just a human construct to make it easier to understand biological diversity. In the real world living things are never black and white.
- rrauenza 10y ago...except Zebras?
- danieltillett 10y agoEven zebras are not black and white - more a dark brown and cream ;)
- J5892 10y agoDepends on the camera.
- Dylan16807 10y agoWe discovered setups where A, B, and C exist at the same time in different places. That's interesting, but it's not a new challenge. The very simplest version of evolution also involves A, B, and C, existing at different times in the same place. The difference with a ring species is that you can't dodge the complexity by ignoring extinct things. But the complexity was always there.
- thaumasiotes 10y ago> then we discovered "ring species" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_species https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_species) which threw a monkey wrench into what was once a simple definition Well, ok, we documented some ring species. That had no effect on the biological species concept, though. It never satisfied the transitive property.