 |
| What Is A Species |
In this article, we are going to discover what the word species means and how our new species was created. 18th-century naturalist carl lines used the term species to describe a group of very similar organisms.
Linnaeus was interested in classifying all living things and he came up with a system for grouping organisms and identifying the relationships between them based on their physical features. Its system of organisms with the most similar characteristics has been grouped into a group called a species.
This species group was then incorporated into ever large groups based on shared physical features right up to the level of the kingdom. domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus & species.
Species are defined as all organisms that can reproduce together and most importantly produce fertile offspring. horses are an example of such a group all breeds of horses including ponies can mate and produce fertile offspring. however, although horses may mate with donkeys their offspring will not be fertile.
This means that horses and donkeys are placed in separate species groups even though they are very closely related to one another. The species group is considered the smallest unit of biological classification and is always given a Greek or Latin name.
In horses this name is ferrous whilst in donkeys the species name is Kian. both species belong to the larger group or genus known as icus. these two species both evolved through a process of natural selection from a common ancestor called equesimplicidense or Hagemann horse.
A new species emerges from an existing species as a result of natural selection known as the process of speciation. Some scientists believe that speciesism persists over long periods, while others believe that the species is extremely rare, and in relatively short periods, sometimes the result of a dramatic environmental event.
An example of a speciation event happened in North America in the 19th century. at that time Hawthorne flies traditionally laid their eggs on Hawthorne fruit which were then eaten by the newly hatched maggots.
Sometime after the introduction of non-native apple trees, a new Hawthorne fly was recorded which laid its eggs on apples. over time this new Hawthorne fly stopped laying eggs on Hawthorne in favor of apples. this new fly is now called the apple maggot fly.
Human beings can directly influence or even potentially cause speciation. a program of selective breeding of livestock over several years led to the creation of now domestic sheep in this area which is unable to produce fertile offspring when mated with Orvis Orientalis. the species from which it comes.
So from this article, you should now know that a species is a group of organisms that can produce fertile offspring. in some cases such as donkeys and horses, different species can mate but their offspring are not fertile hence donkeys and horses are different species.
You should also know that new species can emerge for different reasons. such as a change in habitat and also through humans selectively breeding. see if you can find other examples of speciation.