TY - JOUR
T1 - The what, why and how of primate taxonomy
AU - Groves, Colin
PY - 2004/10
Y1 - 2004/10
N2 - Taxonomy has a well-defined role, which is much more than simply stamp-collecting and pigeon-holing. Species are the units of classification, biogeography and conservation; as such they must be defined as objectively as possible. The biological species concept, still widely used in biology, though predominantly by non-taxonomists and all too often misunderstood, is a process-based concept, which offers no criterion for the classification of allopatric populations beyond inference and hypothesis. The phylogenetic species concept - a pattern-based concept - is as nearly objective as we are likely to get. Amount of difference is not a criterion for recognizing species. It is not possible to insist on monophyly at the specific level, but it is mandatory for the higher categories (genus, family, etc.). The rank we assign to a given supraspecific category should be determined by its time depth.
AB - Taxonomy has a well-defined role, which is much more than simply stamp-collecting and pigeon-holing. Species are the units of classification, biogeography and conservation; as such they must be defined as objectively as possible. The biological species concept, still widely used in biology, though predominantly by non-taxonomists and all too often misunderstood, is a process-based concept, which offers no criterion for the classification of allopatric populations beyond inference and hypothesis. The phylogenetic species concept - a pattern-based concept - is as nearly objective as we are likely to get. Amount of difference is not a criterion for recognizing species. It is not possible to insist on monophyly at the specific level, but it is mandatory for the higher categories (genus, family, etc.). The rank we assign to a given supraspecific category should be determined by its time depth.
KW - biological species concept
KW - family
KW - genetic species concept
KW - genus
KW - phylocode
KW - phylogenetic species concept
KW - taxonomy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=5444239185&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1023/B:IJOP.0000043354.36778.55
DO - 10.1023/B:IJOP.0000043354.36778.55
M3 - Article
SN - 0164-0291
VL - 25
SP - 1105
EP - 1126
JO - International Journal of Primatology
JF - International Journal of Primatology
IS - 5
ER -