Paleontologists and biologists work as separate teams, however if they try to work together they can solve a lot of problems related to these two fields. Please let us know your opinion concerning this subject and how to fill this gap.
Thanks for introducing this interesting topic!
Species is the building block in the systematics of Biology and Paleontology. So the’ gap’ between the two branches may be minimized with commonness in the facets of its definition. Paleontological species (with ambit spanning all past time planes other than the Recent) are morphospecies erected exclusively on hard part morphology that exhibits variations, and differs from other ‘look-alike’ morphospecies. The characteristic aspects of morphospecies are its stratigraphic occurrence and involvement in the changes of morphological features with time (cf. organic evolution and evolutionary lineage), save life activity. Paleontological species has the quality to be a phylogenetic species. On the other hand, the essential parameters of a biological species include sexual reproduction, interbreeding and reproductive isolation which are witnessed in ‘Recent’ organisms. Gene flow within the community is the most distinctive character of a biological species, which however, cannot document organic evolution. ‘Reproductive isolation’ due to geographical, behavioral or genetic differences is difficult to establish in fossil communities; moreover, it is difficult to adjudge if interbreeding of different fossil communities of a species reproduced fertile offspring.
Despite these differences, there are common areas that are to be explored to bridge the gap.
1. Extant species contains distinctive as well as common aspects of both paleontological and biological species and it records physiological and anatomical changes during the span of its geologic age. The changes need to be interpreted by both teams in terms of environmental, ecological, climatic and evolution to arrive at a common definition of species.
2. Fossilized dimorphic/trimorphic forms, conjoined (plastogamic) forms , adult-juvenile association in certain extinct species help in the recovery of life cycle with attendant sexual reproduction and gene flow through interbreeding. Such specimens though rare can be of joint interest; advanced techniques of DNA, RNA can be performed to know ‘blood relation’ between ‘partners’ and ‘offspring’. The will help in genetic classification of a species, which is the aim of both groups.
3. Fossil forms containing signatures of sexual reproduction in their hard parts should be treated on par with biological species, and these may be explored for genetic species based systematics.
best wishes,
Sanjay K. Mukhopadhyay
It's me who would like to thank you for your detailed discussion and explanation.
Biologist need to study Geochronology.
And Geologist need to study Paleoecology
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