[Taxacom] What taxon corresponds to "birds'?

[John Grehan]

This seems so generally quite reasonable that I am worried that I cannot
immediately find fault with it. Someone will I am sure :)

John Grehan

On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 6:16 PM, Richard Pyle <deepreef at bishopmuseum.org>
wrote:

> > I have seem
> > innumerable molecular phylogenies generating many branching points
> > involving many taxa, but as long as the tree is presented I am not sure
> what
> > you see to be so complicated or splintered. With respect to splintered
> are you
> > saying some phylogenetic relationships should remain unresolved so the
> > pattern is 'simple'?
>
> I can't answer for Ken, but one point I have been making for many years is
> that if you want to represent inferred evolutionary relationships among
> organisms, then cladograms and similar branch-type diagrams are an
> extremely effective tool for communicating them.  I think the problem
> happens when people have tried to use a hierarchcal classification and
> nomenclatural system originally developed by a creationist (aka, Linnean
> nomenclature) as a system explicitly for communicating hypothesized
> inferred evolutionary relationships.  Such names and classifications have a
> history spanning more than two and a half centuries (a century before
> Darwin), and benefit to some degree on stability of usage over time.
>
> Thus, let's use line drawings like cladograms to communicate our specific
> ideas about inferred evolutionary relationships, and leave the nomenclature
> to the function it has very effectively fulfilled for many years.  Clearly
> there is (and should be!) a very high degree of congruence between the two
> systems of communication.  But attempts to use the latter as a strict
> communication tool to represent the former often (usually?) serves neither
> goal effectively. Birds are a great example of this.
>
> 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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