[Taxacom] New molecular propaganda on primate systematics

[Kenneth Kinman]

Hi John, 
      Well, I will admit that this study is not the "comprehensive"
genome comparison for which I am still waiting.  But still, it does seem
to confirm the view that the Gorilla-Pan-Homo clade is very tight-knit
(with Pongo the odd man out).  But although this is no doubt a
disappoint to John, that does not make it propaganda.     
      What I find interesting is that the Gorilla-Pan-Homo clade (a
virtual trichotomy) is so closely knit that that this study cannot
clearly show strong evidence that Pan is definitely closer to Homo than
it is to Gorilla. It wlll take a much more comprehensive, genome-wide,
analysis to cladify that trichotomy with more precision.  I really hope
that such an analysis is not only in the works, but will be published
before the end of 2011.  But I suppose John will brand such a study as
propaganda as well if it still shows orangutans as the odd man out among
great apes.  In any case, it should be interesting to see what the
broader evidence shows.    
               ----------Ken Kinman