[Taxacom] burn out (was: classification of Class Rosopsida)

[Thomas Lammers]

----- Original Message -----
From: Gurcharan Singh-satyam <singhg at satyam.net.in>

> I fail to understand why some of the colleagues insist on 
estabilshing paraphyletic taxa.<

No doubt because we recognize that given the nature of evolutionary processes operating in the real world, virtually EVERY taxon will eventually be found to be paraphyletic; nearly all apparent cases of smooth clean bifurcation will eventually be shown to be an illusion caused by flawed methodology and erroneous assumptions, not to mention hubris.

Carried to its "logical" ends, the unrealistic assumptions of the strict cladists will eventually lead to the earth's biota, extinct and extant, all being assigned to a single species, which will encompass prokaryotes and eukaryotes, autotrophs and heterotrophs, and unicells to fully organ-differentiated multicellular body plans.  I assume we'll call it "Homo sapiens" though in light of the foolishness that lead to its recognition, I think "Escherichia coli" would be more appropos.

Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Curator of the Herbarium
Department of Biology and Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=615