Re: Waimanu

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> In some ways it is, but I think calling the clade
> "doomed" is a bit strong.

It strikes me as a bit teleological...

> By that reasoning, every large-bodied clade on earth is doomed
> to hit extinction soon.  Would you call elephants, artiodactyls,
> whales, ursids, etc all doomed?

Sauropods! The literally biggest success story ever. =8-)

> It is worth noting that they had a worldwide distribution, despite
> having low taxon diversity.

Perhaps the other way around: if every species ranges over much or all of 
the globe, there isn't room for a lot of species, even though there is room 
for large populations which won't go extinct just so.