Exist sub-species?????

[Stinger]

Well, what an enormous can of worms this is.  I have deleted all of my
old species concept emails and don't have the time to get sucked into
our almost annual discussion on the subject right now but I'll give a
very short answer to chew on.

Actually it wholly depends on your concept of species.  If you use a
phylogenetic species concept as I do, there can be no subspecies. This
is because the species is the "minimum diagnosable monophyletic group"
(intentionally vague to encompass competing concepts in the same realm)
and we don't recognize non-monophyletic groups, thus there can be no
subspecific ranks.  Groups either are species or they aren't.  If they
aren't then we don't formally recognize them.

Here is a smattering of cites to chew on:

Joel Cracraft's  revision of species concepts in birds (I don't have the
cite at hand now)

Baum, D. and M.J. Donoghue 1993. Choosing among alternative phylogenetic

 species concepts.  Abstract. Supplement to the American Journal of
 Botany 80(6): 115.

Davis, J.I. 1993. Species concepts and the progress of systematics.
American
 Journal of Botany 80(6): 117.

Davis, J.I. and K.C. Nixon 1992. Populations, genetic variation, and
the  delimitation of phylogenetic species. Systematic Biology 41(4):
421-435.

de Queiroz, K. and M.J. Donoghue. 1990. Phylogenetic systematics and
species  revisited. Cladistics 6: 83-90.

 Donoghue, M.J. 1985. A critique of the biological species concept and
recommendations for a phylogenetic alternative. The Bryologist 88:
172-181.


Mishler, B.D. 1985. The morphological, developmental and phylogenetic
basis
 of species concepts in bryophytes. The Bryologist 88: 207-214.

Mishler, B.D. and R.N. Brandon. 1987. Individuality, pluralism and the
 phylogenetic species concept. Biology and Philosophy 2: 397-414.

Nixon, K.C. and Q.D. Wheeler 1990. An amplification of the phylogenetic
 species concept. Cladistics 6: 211-223.

Nixon, K.C. and Q.D. Wheeler 1992. Extinction and the origin of species.
in  M.J. Novacek and Q.D. Wheeler. Extinction and Phylogeny. Columbia
University Press. New York.

Levin, D.L. 1993. Local speciation in plants: the rule not the
exception.  Systematic Botany 18(2): 197-208.


--
Gerald "Stinger" Guala, Ph.D.
Keeper and Curator of the Herbarium
Systematist
Fairchild Tropical Garden
11935 Old Cutler Rd.
Miami, FL 33156

http://www.ftg.fiu.edu/