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Primates and Paradigms

Problems with the Identification of Genetic Species

  • Chapter
Species, Species Concepts and Primate Evolution

Part of the book series: Advances in Primatology ((AIPR))

Abstract

Sir Charles Lyell opened his first notebook on “the species question” in 1855 (Wilson, 1970). A hundred years later, Mayr (1957) edited a volume entitled The Species Problem. Now, 34 years on, Eldredge has opened this volume with a title that emphasizes, once again, that crucial step in understanding natural organization: “What, if Anything, Is a Species?” In recognition of this probing tradition, I have constructed this chapter around a series of questions and possible answers relating to the application of species concepts, particularly to primates. I should point out that while Eldredge has tended to deal with the ontological side of the question—what we think species really are—this contribution is directed more toward epistemological issues—how do we identify the kinds of species that we believe to exist?

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  1. J. C. Masters

    Present address: University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, South Africa

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Genetics Laboratory, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    J. C. Masters

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Human Origins, Berkeley, California, USA

    William H. Kimbel

  2. State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    Lawrence B. Martin

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Masters, J.C. (1993). Primates and Paradigms. In: Kimbel, W.H., Martin, L.B. (eds) Species, Species Concepts and Primate Evolution. Advances in Primatology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3745-2_3

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