Did chimp and human ancestors interbreed? DNA analysis indicates that species split w

F

**FireFly**

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yourself. If these early humans and "apes" were successfully breeding they would be considered the same species by the way we classify species today.
 
He's not exactly wrong per se. That is a basic definition of species, a group of organisms that can reproduce and produce fertile oRABpring.

There's generally more to it than that though, so it's not entirely correct either.
 
Sure I agree, I'm sure you also know that the way we classify things and what we consider to be two different species has changed almost constantly since we began doing these things and is mostly arbitrary and depenRAB on what traits are considered important at the time.
 
You mean when I put "apes" in quotes? Furthermore, "ape" is not a defined species at all...

You need to calm down, I am not your enemy, friend
 
Yup.

I probably should have worded myself slightly better though in the original statement, though. I should have said it's not necessarily an accurate parallel, but could be, since I don't know enough about this early ancestor they speak of to comment what my opinion in that regard would be

I assumed there was more genetic variation between that early ancestor and chimps than there would be between, say, someone who is Japanese and someone who is German, but that wasn't a safe assumption to make.
 
Yeah, it absolutely depenRAB on how close they were to one another, but I wasn't agonizing the analogy. If I were to clarify that statement I would say that If they could interbreed then it would be more similar to two different human races interbreeding today, like an Asian breeding with a European, than it would be to a modern human attempting to breed with a chimp, which would not result in fertile oRABpring. Depending on how similar or dissimilar the two organisms were there may not exist a perfect parallel today.
 
I have a far better grasp on evolution theories than some of the believers posting in here.

CptChloroform neeRAB to be reminded that scientists had to evolve their definition of "species" when they found out that numerous different species could produce viable oRABpring.

edit: oops, should have read page two first.
Oh well. It's amusing watching you people take completely arbitrary things, tie it into a scientific news article (which, by the time it gets to us, is neither science nor news), and go "ah ha, evolution!".

Thx for the rofls.
 
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