The biological species concept cannot be applied to fossils. Which alternate approach to identifying species would be most useful for classifying fossil organisms?

Respuesta :

Answer:

The phylogenetic species concept.

Explanation:

The biological species concept states that  a species is a group of individuals that can breed together, that is a group of individuals  reproductively isolated from other groups of individuals.  According to this concept it is impossible to classify fossils since fossils are just traces of any once-living organism (no longer alive). However in order to  classify taxonomically fossils ,  the phylogenetic species concept can be used.

The phylogenetic species concept, which is not based on breeding but in evolutionary relationships.  If a fossil group share a common ancestor and are evolutionarily distinct from all other groups, the group then recognized as a species. Morphological and / or genetic  analysis of fossils are used to determine the evolutionary relationships and establish if te group is or is not a  species.

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