Yes that’s a fair point Andrew, I should have said “If you think species must
be
monophyletic then...”
Personally I think it’s wrong to require species to be monophyletic. One
particular form of a superspecies (say one isolated on an island) might be
subject
to quite different evolutionary pressures from the remainder, and diverge
significantly. But if you require all species to be monophyletic, then you
might
end up either having to keep them all lumped despite significant morphological
differences, or else having to split the mainland forms (potentially into
multiple
species) in a way you would not contemplate if the island form did not exist.
On the other hand I agree that higher levels of taxonomy, eg families, ought to
be
monophyletic.
Murray
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