[Taxacom] What taxon corresponds to "birds'?

[Richard Pyle]

> For Ken to use historical precedent to override
> progress in scientific understanding of life...

Erm... by what metric are you measuring "progress" in our scientific understanding of life, in this context?  

We certainly are making progress in our understanding of historical evolutionary patterns. But in terms of how we apply nested sets of latinized text-string labels to defined sets of organisms (and specifically the extent to which our understanding of evolutionary patterns du jour should influence and be reflected in those nested sets of text-string labels) -- which is my understanding of what Ken's question is about -- I'm not really sure we've made a whole lot of "progress" since the 1750's (except, perhaps, the codification a little over a century ago of how those names are created, prioritized, and anchored to biology).  

Nor am I convinced that "progress" is even helpful in this context (by whatever metric you choose).

Aloha,
Rich

Richard L. Pyle, PhD
Database Coordinator for Natural Sciences | Associate Zoologist in Ichthyology | Dive Safety Officer
Department of Natural Sciences, Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice St., Honolulu, HI 96817
Ph: (808)848-4115, Fax: (808)847-8252 email: deepreef at bishopmuseum.org
http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/staff/pylerichard.html