The overlapping ends are in the same area, but I'd say the speciation was allopatric. It is caused by differences of adaptation and history enforced by considerable if not total geographic isolation up until the ends reunite.
Also, there really aren't that many instances of ring species, so even if you count them as sympatric there still aren't many sympatrics.
200 posted on 09/27/2005 3:32:17 PM PDT by VadeRetro
(Liberalism is a cancer on society. Creationism is a cancer on conservatism.)
"The overlapping ends are in the same area, but I'd say the speciation was allopatric. It is caused by differences of adaptation and history enforced by considerable if not total geographic isolation up until the ends reunite.
Would we know that if all the intermediate subspecies were extinct.
203 posted on 09/27/2005 5:14:31 PM PDT by b_sharp
(Science adjusts theories to fit evidence, creationism distorts evidence to fit the Bible.)