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[-] dogsoahC@lemm.ee 7 points 1 week ago

What I'm getting at is taxonomy. A valid taxon has to include all descendents of the crown group. That means that for monkeys to constitute a valid taxon, apes must be included. Same reason why birds are technically dinosaurs.

[-] OpenStars@discuss.online 7 points 1 week ago

A monophyletic clade must include all descendants. A taxonomic group itself can hold anything.

Viruses can also integrate DNA into cells and it sticks there forever sometimes, thus bypassing the tree entirely (making it a network, i.e. no longer acyclic thus no longer a tree).

There is a lot of weirdness in the world, stranger than people have dreamed.:-P

[-] dogsoahC@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago

Fair enough. I just belong to the people who require a valid taxon to be monophyletic. (Btw., "clade" already implies monophyleti...city? Monophyleticness?)

Also, shut up about viruses, they make a mess of everything and are beautifully chaotic and I hate them and I love them. xD

[-] OpenStars@discuss.online 2 points 1 week ago

I will never shut up about viruses - they are aliens on earth, or like something I dunno but they are so fucking cool!

viruses

this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024
115 points (92.6% liked)

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