Message 2001-06-0058: Re: [conflict between monophyletic taxonomy and rank-based classification]

Fri, 04 May 2001 04:16:56 -0400 (EDT)

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Date: Fri, 04 May 2001 04:16:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: "T. Mike Keesey" <tmk@dinosauricon.com>
To: -PhyloCode Mailing List- <phylocode@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu>
Subject: Re: [conflict between monophyletic taxonomy and rank-based classification]

On Thu, 3 May 2001 kinman@usa.net wrote:

>      In many cases, the well-defined clade is not only well-defined but
> distinctive enough that it has often been raised to a higher rank.  One such
> an embedded clade is Aves which was so distinctive that even primitive peoples
> paraphyletically removed it from Reptilia.  Not consciously of course, but
> this is how the human brain normally classifies, at least when it hasn't been
> conditioned to believe that paraphyly is something unnatural.

Actually, the clade that "primitive peoples" recognize is _Neornithes_,
not _Aves_. If they knew of semi-winged non-avians like _Caudipteryx_, the
clade might even be extended to _Maniraptora_. And since bats are often
considered "birds" or "demi-birds" in folk taxonomies, it can be a
polyphyletic group.

And since when should folk taxonomy be a basis for biological systematics,
anyway? (Shall we resurrect "Vermes", "Pisces", and "Pachydermata"?)

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