Re: the tonight show

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/9/01 9:09:46 AM EST, kinman@hotmail.com writes:

<< Even though all living birds are equally related to the common ancestor 
 with dromaeosaurs in terms of "chronological years", I would argue that a 
 slow-evolving lineage like the tinamous (the most generalized palaeognaths) 
 would be the closest relatives of any "dinosaur" in evolutionary terms, 
 certainly closer than a penguin, hummingbird, or sparrow.  Evolutionary 
 rates do differ significantly in different lineages. >>

Please do not follow Tonight Show science and confuse morphological 
similarity with phyletic relationship. Flow of time and rate of evolutionary 
change are irrelevant to concept of phyletic relationship, which is tied 
strictly to ancestor-descendant connections. Phyletic relationship is fixed 
topological property of Tree of Life.