Kansas dumps Darwin AND conceptual issues

[Thomas Schlemmermeyer]

Yet, one should not forget that completely absurd and wrong "predictions" were
made as well.

Those of you familiar with German, might want to consult H. Weidner?s "Handbuch
der Zoologie - Termiten".

There, a nice host-parasite phylogenetic tree is drawn with some termites and
the associated staphylinid beetles, culminating in the prediction that the
soldier caste of the neotropical termite genus Anoplotermes is still to be
detected. Yet, now one knows for sure that this genus is definitely
soldierless, may there be whatever genus of staphylinid beetles associated with
them.



On (         Wed, 25 Aug 1999 19:54:23 -0700
),         Doug Yanega <dyanega at POP.UCR.EDU> wrote:


>>There must be similar examples in sciences such
>>as natural history and archaeology.
>
>Darwin himself gave a nice example of this, in predicting the existence of
>a sphinx moth with a 12-inch tongue that would pollinate the Christmas
>Island Orchid (IIRC). The name of the moth escapes me at the moment.
>Similar predictions based on natural history are actually quite easy to
>make, and it's a good thing, too. Want to find the plant/animal host of an
>organism? Start by considering what it's nearest relative uses as a host,
>and you'll rarely go wrong. That qualifies as being prediction based on
>evolutionary theory.
>
>Peace,
>
>
>Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
>Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
>phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
>                http://insects.ucr.edu/staff/yanega.html
>  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
>        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
>


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Thomas Schlemmermeyer
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