[Taxacom] progress on globalnames.org

[John Grehan]

> bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Peter DeVries
> Yes, there is a difference of opinion on whether species are different
> than the other clades. I think they are.
> 
> One simple reason is that members of a species are pretty good at
> recognizing each other.

I've brought this up before, but I still think its pretty good exemplar
of what can happen when species are thought to be different from other
clades and some on this list may not be familiar with the case. 

In New Zealand the experts on species identity did not like the way a
female black robin fostered by a Chatham Island tit decided that it
recognized itself as a Chatham Island tit and later mated with one. A
hybrid offspring, named Tobin, was duly photographed and executed for
transgressing the sacred boundaries of species identity established
under the authority of the avian conservationists. Apparently a number
of other transgressors were also later executed.

John Grehan