donh wrote:
Well, actually, teacup size poodles have been around for about 40 years. Think it could mate with a Great Dane in the wild, unassisted by pippettes and microscopes? You guys are a tough audience--what, exactly, does a mammal need to do to be considered a separate species?
............................................
Well actually using domesticated dogs as an example is not good since they are all members of the same species regardless of the consequences of their mating. If the teacup were to survive being mated with a Great Dane, then it is absolutely possible for it to bear a pup. It would be a mutt, and the teacup may not survive the birth, but it does not invalidate the fact that they could possibly bear an offspring.
Oh, really? How big do you think a newborn Great Dane is?
It would be a mutt, and the teacup may not survive the birth, but it does not invalidate the fact that they could possibly bear an offspring.
Post Hoc, ergo propter hoc. Let me shave off the extaneous doo-dads in your argument for you: Your assumption is that they are of the same species, therefore, they must have viable offspring, therefore, they must be of the same species. Neatly proved...aside from the lack of available facts to verify your anticedent assumption.
I'd be very curious to see if any dog breeder has ever tried this before. Certainly somebody, somewhere must have...