[Taxacom] Ardipithecus not a hominid????

[John Grehan]

Ken, thanks for the comments. My response below.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-
> bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Kenneth Kinman
In any case, the authors having
> studied these bones up close and personal for 11 years, I have to give
> their interpretations a lot of credence.

One is free to do that

>       As for your arguments against Ardipithecus being a hominid, it
is
> unclear what "alternative placement" you would actually favor.  Based
on
> your dental evidence, I guess you would place Ardipithecus outside of
> your proposed orangutan-Australopithecus-Homo clade. 

That would seem to me to be probably the case.


 However, dental
> evidence can be very homoplastic due to differences in diet.

One might make that assertion, but whether that is the case for hominid
origins has never been demonstrated. The current evidence suggests that
dental evidence is congruent with other morphological evidence.

>        As for Ardipithecus not being as bipedal as Australopithecus
and
> Homo, that is EXACTLY what one would expect.  Are you arguing that
> Ardipithecus is no more bipedal than the orangutan clade???

I don't know for sure as the evidence as presented in of inadequate
quality for me to judge, and possibly inadequate for even a specialist
to judge.

  You made it
> very clear what you are arguing against, but not so clear just what
you
> are arguing for.  I can only guess that you would favor Ardipithecus
as
> close to, but outside of, your orangutan-australopith-Homo clade.

At this time I have no idea where Ardipithecus would fall if outside the
orangutan-human clade.

John Grehan

>            --------Ken
> 
> 
> 
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