On Fri, Jul 09, 2004 at 06:29:00PM +1000, Tim Murphy wrote:
> I must admit to extreme ignorance in what hybrids are possible. Can someone
> tell us? How far across phylogeny can a viable offspring occur. Inside
> genera yes but outside genera and inside family? (Yes I know these are
> artificial)?
Fertile intergeneric hybrids certainly occur in some families, e.g.
I believe a number have between observed between different Birds of
Paradise genera. Occasional fertile intrageneric or intergeneric hybrids
may not be evolutionarily significant. Reproductive isolation may be
established by non-genetic mechanisms, such as changes in song or plumage,
with genetic isolation occurring much later.
Andrew Taylor
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