Ligers

[Raineyrocks]

ligers and tions Oh my!   

[Friday]

I'm still tripping on the ligers.  I thought that, by definition, species can't breed with one another.  I just checked, to see if I was misremembering:

spe·cies      /?spi?iz, -siz/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[spee-sheez, -seez] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, plural -cies, adjective
–noun
1.   a class of individuals having some common characteristics or qualities; distinct sort or kind.
2.   Biology. the major subdivision of a genus or subgenus, regarded as the basic category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species.

Now, lions are Panthera leo.  And tigers are Panthera tigris.  So where the hell did ligers come from??   Plus, some breeds of dogs vary so dramatically in size, I'll bet it's physically impossible for some of them to breed with each other.  So does that mean they should really be broken into different species?  Canus rex and Canus yappie?    I'm thinking that definition of "species" needs some work. 

Meanwhile, Jane Goodall says that chimpanzees share 98% of their genes with humans.  So does that mean a chimp and a human could have viable offspring??   

[Tom Sawyer]

I think maybe it is they can't reproduce like Mules... I think that might be the right example.

But, also species are just catagories that people created to organize nature sometimes nature doesn't follow our rules... the platypus. 

[KBCraig]

Mules are hybrids and can't (usually) reproduce. Other inter-species breeding is common, such as dogs/wolves/coyotes, or domestic cats and bobcats, and those offspring can reproduce.

[Friday]

Dogs and wolves are the same species.

[SethCohn]

See http://madfoolish.blogspot.com/2007/09/top-10-hybrid-animals.html
for cool crosses, including photos.

And Ligers and Tigons aren't sterile, unlike Mules.

[KBCraig]

Dogs and wolves are the same species.

Coyotes are not the same species, but sometimes breed with dogs and wolves, which is why I said "dogs/wolves/coyotes".

[Pat K]

"Meanwhile, Jane Goodall says that chimpanzees share 98% of their genes with humans.  So does that mean a chimp and a human could have viable offspring??"

Just picture George Bush, bent over and scratching
under his arms and you might think this has happened.

[Raineyrocks]

"Meanwhile, Jane Goodall says that chimpanzees share 98% of their genes with humans.  So does that mean a chimp and a human could have viable offspring??"

Just picture George Bush, bent over and scratching
under his arms and you might think this has happened.

[David]

To be healthy, the female must be of the larger of the two close species.  If done in reverse, the smaller female will not be able to bring to term the larger than normal offspring.  So a mule us usually a mix of a male donkey and a female horse. 
wouldn't it be neat, to see a wolf, and an Irish Wolf hound breed.  That would be one scary animal. 

[Beth221]

if she can bring to term offspring, its usually one cub, rather than a whole litter of them.