subspecies

[P. F. Stevens]

For those perhaps more philosophically inclined (I myself have always had
trouble with grue), there are some interesting articles in R. A. Wilson
(ed.), "Species: New Interdisciplinary Essays", MIT press, 1999. From the
same press, also 1999, comes "Folkbiology", eds. D. L. Medin and S. Atran,
which has a number of articles of considerable relevance to systematists.
Also, D. J. Howard and S. H. Berlocher, "Endless forms: Species and
Speciation" , Oxford U. P., 1998.  Both the first and last books have
articles by de Queiroz in which he relates most species concepts to a
"general lineage concept".  But good analyses of patterns of variation are
perhaps most fun, although they are surprisingly infrequent - given the
importance of the whole problem - in the literature.  But there are a
couple of articles in the most recent "Evolution", one suggesting that
several of the "species" of finch on the Galapagos may not be so, while
another finds that many widespread species of marine invertebrates (I
think, I have not my copy here), are best subdivided....

Peter S.