Reconciling Species Concepts

An Ecological Perspective

Datos Bibliográficos

ID24314520
AutoresNorman Owen‐smith (0000-0001-8429-1201, Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa)
Año2025
Volumen186
Número4
Páginase70047-e70047
Fecha de publicación2025-04-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Biological Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2692-7691 • E-ISSN: 2692-7691
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.70047
PMID40214099
OpenAlexW4409365844
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas37

Species concepts remain contentious, both in paleoanthropology and in modern taxonomy. The lineage‐based concept emphasizing evolutionary independence is most fundamental, but in practice is generally represented by proxy evidence of morphological or genetic divergence. This has resulted in a troubling proliferation of species names in the hominin fossil record. Pseudo‐extinctions where lineages persisted under a new species name need to be distinguished from cases where lineages ended terminally—the implications for ecological adaptability are diametrically opposed. Furthermore, the ecological criterion for species coexistence is widely overlooked. The competitive exclusion principle holds that species sharing closely similar niches cannot continue to coexist in the same place at the same time. Notably, the largely vegetarian Paranthropus lineage remained distinct from the diverging, more versatile Homo lineage until fading from the fossil record during the later Pleistocene. Claims that additional hominin species existed are ecologically suspect unless supported by evidence of adequate niche separation. Modern examples where there has been equivocation in lineage recognition are illustrated for bovids, giraffids, baboons, and elephants. Furthermore, the mechanisms that resulted in the displacement of Neanderthals by modern humans are reappraised from an ecological perspective. Representations of evolutionary divergence as a bushy tree need to be superseded by the emerging paradigm of reticulate lineages diverging and coalescing through time and space.

baboons · Bovidae · Competitive exclusion · elephants · giraffids · hominin fossil record · hominin taxonomy · Homo · Niche differentiation · Paranthropus · Reticulate evolution · species coexistence · species concept · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Plant Diversity and Evolution · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology