Post by Chris Thompsonhttps://scitechdaily.com/rewriting-evolution-study-shows-neanderthals-
and-humans-were-not-the-same-species/
Interesting paper. It's turning out that species is a slippery concept.
If two species never interbreed, they're clearly separate. If the
occasionally interbreed, they may still be separate, but how
occasionally? I'd agree that Neanderthals are separate. It's
interesting that interbreedability can go on for a surprisingly long
time, hundreds of thousands of years. Some plants are still separate
species after tens of millions of years of interbreeding.
Some plants are still interfertile after tens of millions of years of
presumed isolation. For example North American and European species of
lime (basswood), oak, plane, poplar, and horse chestnut (buckeye). Is
that what you meant; if not I'm curious what taxa you have evidence for
tens of millions of interbreeding; I would have thought that evidence
for such would be hard to come by.
--
alias Ernest Major