[Taxacom] New systematics book

[Ken Kinman]

Dear All,

 

        Thanks Richard.  You expressed it much better than I did, and with even better reasons.  I also agree with Curtis that "birds are maniraptoran theropods" is more easily subject to falsification, but "birds are descended from maniraptoran theropods" is just as easily subject to falsification (and even more preferable for the reasons Richard Jensen gave).

 

           ----------------Ken

 

P.S.  The reason noone has said that "birds are descended from vertebrates", or even "humans are descended from mammals" is simply because noone has classified birds as separate from vertebrates or classified humans as separate from mammals (except for creationists).  Birds on the other hand have long been classified as separate from reptiles (by "evolutionary" taxonomists and most of humanity in general).  

 

 

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> Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 07:39:24 -0700
> From: lists at curtisclark.org
> To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] New systematics book
> 
> On 2013-09-09 7:29 AM, Richard Jensen wrote:
> > I agree with Ken. The expression "Birds are descended from Reptiles" is
> > more informative and interesting than is "Birds are Reptiles." First, it
> > clearly states an evolutionary hypothesis. Second, it encourages the
> > reader to consider what lineage of reptiles differentiated into birds and
> > how this happened.
> 
> The expression "birds are maniraptoran theropods" is more informative 
> than either one (and more easily subject to falsification, however that 
> might work in systematics).
> 
> And no one (that I know of) says "birds are descended from amniotes" or 
> "birds are descended from vertebrates", or even "humans are descended 
> from mammals".
> 
> -- 
> Curtis Clark http://www.csupomona.edu/~jcclark
> Biological Sciences +1 909 869 4140
> Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona CA 91768
> 
> 
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