>There is always one exception to the rule? Does one fertile mule
>mean that the majority of mules are fertile,
Of course not. But it does show that distinct species can give rise
to fertile hybrids. If this mule was male, and a fertile female mule
turned up, they would most likely produce fertile offspring. Voilą!
Instant new species.
>which would certainly point towards the parent species hybridizng to
>be separate species.
No problem there.
>Returning, to shells, I have always thought that the future of
>speciation lies in the examination of the animals - the surface of
>which we are only "scratching." I am thinking of a recent
>description of a new species based entirely on the shell, without
>ever seeing even one of the animals. Let us hope that more and
>more research can be done on the snimals, without decimating the
>populations.
Of course the animal is just as (but in most marine spp no more)
important than the shell (which is, after all, part of the animal)
for taxonomic work. With the vast majority of species the animal will
never have been examined, and there is huge scope for researchers
here. Plenty of surprises lurking, no doubt, as well as lots of "as
expected".
However FOSSILS are another story... we don't have animals for these,
nor will we until someone comes up with a usable time machine (I
wish!), so we can only go by shell characters.
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
<[log in to unmask]>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
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