Quote:
Originally Posted by batwrangler
It's not at all hypocritical: Corn and rat snakes belong to the same genus. NA corn/rat species are so closely related that species now recognized as separate were orginally classed as regional subspecies. They naturally interbreed where their ranges overlap.
|
So, you ignore the mounding data that says
guttata is more different from
obsoleta that
obsoleta is from the current definition of
Pituophis? Not to sound like a butt, but if you ignore large chunks of data, then you CAN draw any conclusion you want. PLUS, what about the resurgence of the idea that All the rats, fox, pine, bull, and gophersnakes belong in the same genus? There is no doubt that
obsoleta and
guttata are NOT as closely related as morphology originally lead people to believe.
PLUS, there is mounding data to support the hypothesis that has been going around for at least 2 decades to my personal knowledge that the ratsnakes are a very paraphyletic genus! That makes your entire argument crumble (if in fact this is true as many taxonomists currently believe), but that is irrelevant.
Pituophis and
Elaphe - regardless of the name you use - are sister taxa. Why do you arbitrarily say genus-level hybrids are OK to group together without record-keeping, but tribe-level hybrids aren't
I admitted I don't like hybrids - 1% or 50%. I don't have to bother explaining why I feel so personally, but YOU, on the other hand, projected a possible new way of doing business for ALL of us. I'm asking for justification of the basis for that supposition. I'm NOT asking why you personally think hybrids are OK - I don't care. I'm asking why you think it is OK, under your proposed system that makes no sense to me, to arbitrarily pick a paraphyletic genus for the "OK" level and not, for example, a tribe (or higher taxa) that is more likely to be monophyletic. At least THAT would have a meaning I could understand.
Really - I'm not arguing with your proposition - I'm asking for explanation on why you support the premise. I believe that is a fair question.
KJ