Is Homo genus the exception of this? I have pretty much zero knowledge in biology but been curious about this for a while and can’t get it out of my head.
In: 10
Nature has this nasty habit of not caring about the labels we try to apply to it. Or even the system we use to generate those labels. So more often than not, we just have to change our labels.
In this case, it’s forcing us to classify neantherdals as a sister subspecies to us.
But in general, deciding where a species begins and ends is more of an art than science. The classic example is of two populations splitting around a mountain, spreading along it and being incompatible with eachother at the other side, but still compatible with their immediate neighbours to the back. Since it’s a gradual process, at which point around the mountain did the new species begin? Nevermind what line you pick, two individuals immediately before and after that line will be able to breed, making it invalid. So you are intentionally making an exception to your own rule.
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