genetics of arrogance

[BillS@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Bill Shear)]

 Which of the scores of species of "South American tree frogs" has CP
compared with Xenopus (which, by the way, is not a tree frog but an aquatic
clawed frog)?  If he had even a small knowledge base in morphology he would
know that Xenopus is likely to be distinct from ANY "South American tree
frog" in nearly every bone.  Be not so quick to condemn that of which you
are obviously ignorant.   Sorry to be so pedantic, but it's EpidoNax, not
EpidoMax.  Spelling counts in words as well as in nucleotide sequences.

Morphology (phenotype) is important in evolution simply because it is
phenotypes that are exposed to selection; selection does not act directly
on genes, non-coding or otherwise.  In fact, it is this quality which makes
non-coding genes useful in constructing phylogenetic hypotheses.  Surely
there is a place in evolutionary studies for both molecular genetic and
phenotypic evidence.  Since molecular phylogenies based on different
molecules often disagree, morphological evidence or the fossil record can
help to resolve the questions.

Molecular evidence is part of the answer, but it is not the whole answer.

I suggest we find another Moses to lead us out of the wilderness.

Best wishes, Bill
___________________
William A. Shear
Department of Biology
Hamden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943 USA
phone (804) 223-6172
FAX (804) 223-6374