Such expressions as that famous one of Linnæus, and which we often meet with in a more or less concealed form, that the characters do not make the genus, but that the genus gives the characters, seem to imply that something more is included in our classification, than mere resemblance. I believe that something more is included; and that propinquity of descent,—the only known cause of the similarity of organic beings,—is the bond, hidden as it is by various degrees of modification, which is partially revealed to us by our classifications (Darwin, 1859, p. 413f).

Wednesday 29 July 2009

FSB: Reviews

Finally, reviews of Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography are out!

Norman Platnick has a review in Systematic Biology and Andy Brower has published one in Systematics & Biodiversity.

Unfortunately the links are only limited to subscribers or those with institutional access.

References
Brower, A.V.Z. (2009) Science as a Pattern David M. Williams and Malte C. Ebach. Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography Springer Science+Business Media, New York, 2008, xvii + 309 pp, ISBN 9780387727288. Systematics and Biodiversity, 7: 345-346.
Platnick, N.I. (2009). Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography. Systematic Biology, 58: 279-281.