I grew up hearing that the main indicator of a species was that they only reproduced with one another. But Neanderthals and Humans cross bred. And they’re separate species. And in captivity Lions and Tigers can breed, but they’re obviously different species. Like I guess I’m just confused where the line gets drawn when deciding what is and isn’t a different species.
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I’ve had this same question my whole life and never got any good answer from a biologist. Why aren’t different dog breeds considered different species? Are different races of humans different breeds like dogs? Why are certain bird species that look alike, live together, and breed together, considered different species?
The answer I usually get is: it’s arbitrary. Curious to see what others say, but it’s not hardfast how they make distinctions.
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