Evolution (sorry)

From: Carl Fink <carlf_at_panix.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 12:35:14 -0400 (EDT)

<madamx_at_mikka.net.au>:
[dogs and wolves]
> On Earth _at_ least D&W evolved quite seperately. Dogs are decended
> from the asiatic 'wolf' (Australian dingo) wolves from something
> more akin to a bear ( not bear as such but a common ancestor),
> hence the seperate genus.

What?

When I took biology, dogs and wolves were both members of the genus _Canis_. The most certainly are *not* as separate as described above, and the idea that wolves descend from a common ancestor with bears that is more recent than dogs is simply not possible, since wolves and dogs don't have separate ancestry. Got a source for this?

> . . . It is theorised that without
> human interferance the horse would now be extinct due to its relatively poor
> digestive ability (among other factors).

By whom? Horses did quite well before we domesticated them, and horses have naturalized in, for instance, the American southwest. No, they aren't quite as efficient at consuming grass as true ruminants, but so what? Neither are, e.g. rabbits and hares. - --
Carl Fink carlf_at_dm.net
Manager, Dueling Modems Computer Forum
<http://dm.net>

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