By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Final-Fan said:
o_O.Q said:

penguins have adapted wings, they do not have the same type of fins or flippers that dolphins or other aquatic animals have

"I don't think you'll find that he made the blanket assertion that there exist no groups into which animals can be sorted."

that is exactly what he said, go back and read his posts before you get involved and that is exactly why i responded in the way i did

1.  But you didn't call what dolphins have "paws" or "feet" or "legs".  You called them "fins or flippers".  If you do that, then you should not, I argue, call what penguins have "wings".  They adapted from wings, and from legs, into something that is different from wings or legs, but which is very similar to what the other aquatic species developed.  We (both you and I) call these fins or flippers. 

Let me put it this way:  Scientists believe that bats evolved from land-dwelling mammals.  Should we call what they use to fly "legs" because they were legs before they were wings, even though they are flying around on them?  Penguins used to have wings.  They evolved to have flippers.  Ostriches have vestigial wings because they apparently didn't need to fly anymore.  All they do now with them is balance and send social cues.  Penguins don't have vestigial wings.  They have a new thing that they use to move through the water instead of through the air.  They have flippers. 

2.  I did go back and read what he said.  What I found was not what you said, but something that I thought could potentially have been misinterpreted by a careless reader into something within a mile or two of what you said.  But I have been wrong before and I will be wrong in the future, and you can prove me wrong now:  go back and find the exact quote that is "exactly" the blanket assertion that there exist no groups into which animals can be sorted, and let me know what you find. 

3.  I ask you again:  what was the point of your question, "why don't elephants swim with fish in schools?"

"But you didn't call what dolphins have "paws" or "feet" or "legs".  You called them "fins or flippers".  If you do that, then you should not, I argue, call what penguins have "wings".  They adapted from wings, and from legs, into something that is different from wings or legs, but which is very similar to what the other aquatic species developed.  We (both you and I) call these fins or flippers.  "

do i really need to go into the fact that we use a group of criteria rather than one particular criteria? you know... penguins having beaks? feathers? laying eggs?

 

"I did go back and read what he said.  What I found was not what you said"

then you didn't look far enough

 

"what was the point of your question, "why don't elephants swim with fish in schools?""

i've addressed that multiple times in my posts... if you're too lazy to go and read the full context for the conversation yourself, then don't depend on me to do it for you