Culex molestus

[Thomas Lammers]

At 08:45 AM 2/2/01 -0800, you wrote:
>I think the interesting part of this story is the attribution of a "new"
>species' origin to anthropogenic effects (have not read it: going by the
>first post).  Does anyone know of a species whose origin is attributed to
>human activity, directly or indirectly?  Have any of the human commensal
>critters developed local populations that could be considered "new"
>species (given whatever species concept one chooses) or subspecies?

Maize (Zea mays) is the best example of an anthropogenic plant species.

Tragopogon mirus and T. miscellus are allopolyploid species in nw. USA
derived from naturalized Old World diploid weeds.   Their evolution,
genetics, etc. have been studied extensively since their discovery in 1949
and even made their way into intro textbooks, e.g., Raven, Evert &
Eichhorn, Biology of Plants, ed. 6 (1999), pg. 253.



Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
Department of Biology and Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA

e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
phone:      920-424-7085
fax:           920-424-1101

Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and
biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.
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"Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood his ground."
                                                 -- Anonymous