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Re: the definition of Reptilia



Brian,
I think we are indeed largely in agreement. I am certainly not in favor of deceiving the public with an alternative story that is inconsistent with scientific understanding. But the primary schism exists within the scientific community itself, not between that community and the public at large.
The thing that particularly bothers me is that the comments of some strict cladists indicates that they think traditionalists are recognizing paraphyletic groups (like Reptilia) to appease non-scientists (as though we were stooping down to a muddled, lowest common denominator). That is certainly *not* the case.
Traditional classifications certainly lack a needed element of cladistic precision, but it has always been my belief that there is more than one way to achieve that goal. Even in those groups where strict cladism has worked reasonably well (vertebrates in particular), it is already showing its drawbacks, and phylocode is beginning to scare a lot of traditionalists out of their complaceny. Many biologists do not like the direction in which strict cladism is going, with increasingly arcane, micromanaged, and "tortured" (to use Peter Dodson's term) language.
Until the scientists themselves settle this long cladisto-eclectic war, the public will largely stick with the less arcane traditional approach. Cladistic reforms are definitely in order, and I have introduced my own moderate approach for doing that. Strict cladism, on other hand, is taking sort of an all or nothing approach which seems very likely to backfire on them, and all because of a long-held belief that all formal paraphyletic taxa must be destroyed.
That's where the real danger lies in my opinion. It's the schism within the scientific community which is causing the real harm, at least far more harm than any "town-gown" problems between the scientific community and the public. The BAD vs. BAND battle is just one manifestation of this scientific schism, and if expanding Aves somewhat could help break that deadlock, then it's just one more reason to finally let go of the out-dated notion of Archaeopteryx being the first bird. However, I think the expansion of Aves should not go beyond Coelurosauria. Ornithischians or sauropods as birds would not be widely accepted by either the scientific community or the public.
---------- Ken Kinman


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