
Guenon Monkeys Cross Species Boundary - okket
https://leakeyfoundation.org/guenon-monkeys-cross-species-boundary/
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doombolt
Many many species pairs only have pre-zygote isolation[1], meaning they could
have common offspring but avoid doing so, as such mixed offspring would be at
disadvantage.

1\. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_isolation#Pre-
cop...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_isolation#Pre-
copulatory_mechanisms_in_animals)

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EGreg
I thought “species” meant their offspring was not going to be fertile, such as
mules for example.

So how can they use this term “species”, isn’t it a contradiction? So they are
NOT distinct species, then? Like dogs?

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jhbadger
Often the issue isn't two organisms _can_ mate and have fertile offspring but
whether or not they often _do_. A species can still be "real" if their gene
pool is not shared to a great degree. Yes, wolves, dogs, and coyotes can all
interbreed, but there are real behavioral differences due to differing
genetics -- their gene pools are not the same.

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gweinberg
It may make sense to say two populations should be considered separate species
if they are capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring if they
almost never do. But that doesn't seem to be the case here. 15% "hybrids" is
huge.

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EGreg
Right, so is this kind of a non-story? They are basically not distinct
species, according to the story, so its premise is wrong.

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lolc
That's how the species count goes down without any going extinct.

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dredmorbius
Actually true, even amongst dinosaurs.

Jack Horner is decreasing species counts:
[https://youtube.com/watch?v=kQa11RMCeSI](https://youtube.com/watch?v=kQa11RMCeSI)

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lolc
That's a great talk, thanks for pointing it out.

