"Cope's Rule" Put to the Test

["Jonathan R. Wagner" <znc14@ttacs1.ttu.edu>]

        Let me clarify my position on this:
        1) I am sure some groups got larger through time.

        2) It is certainly not a rule, as has been said.

        3) There really does not seem to be any evidence that it is more
difficult to become small than large (although I may have gotten lost in
Georgetext and missed some).  Evidence, ie. with ref.s, in the context of
modern biology.

        4) Therefore, until these situations change, I claim the right to
openly declare moot any evidence based on Cope's "Rule" used by George to
support his BCF theory.

        5) And I still think the idea of small, conservative groups staying
around not evolving, just waiting to sprout offshoots is muckity-muck.

        Arguments (with evidence, perhaps)?

        Wagner
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| Jonathan R. Wagner                    "You can clade if you want to,     |
| Department of Geosciences              You can leave your friends behind |
| Texas Tech University                  Because your friends don't clade  |
| Lubbock, TX 79409                               and if they don't clade, |
|       *** wagner@ttu.edu ***           Then they're no friends of mine." |
|           Web Page:  http://faraday.clas.virginia.edu/~jrw6f             |
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