[Taxacom] What taxon corresponds to "birds'?

[Richard Pyle]

OK, then I agree.  But there is a big (and growing?) difference between how we improve our understanding of evolutionary relationships among organisms (questions about biology), and how we choose to label and classify organisms (questions about human-to-human communication).  I read Ken's original question as being more about the latter (i.e., how to circumscribe a particular group, and which label to apply to it), than to the former.

Aloha,
Rich

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael A. Ivie [mailto:mivie at montana.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2016 11:38 AM
> To: deepreef at bishopmuseum.org; taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] What taxon corresponds to "birds'?
> 
> Richard,
> 
> Oh, just that we know such things a capybaras are not fish, and that bats are
> not birds and so on.  Also that birds are reptiles, and termites are
> cockroaches.  That sort of progress.  You know, improvements in
> understanding of relationships over those who wrote the Kosher laws
> hundreds of years ago.
> 
> 
> 
> On 11/29/2016 2:32 PM, Richard Pyle wrote:
> >> 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
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > .
> >
> 
> --
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> 
> Michael A. Ivie, Ph.D., F.R.E.S.
> 
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