Re: Line breeding vs hybridization

From: "Wilbert Hetterscheid" hetter at worldonline.nl> on 2001.06.21 at 16:03:36(6793) The question then is: is a Canis familiaris actually Canis lupus???? OR is it Canis lupus 'Dalmatian' and Canis lupus 'Dachshund'?? Or is it Canis familiaris 'Dalmatian' or Canis familiaris 'Dachshund'? Or plain Canis 'Dalmatian' and Canis 'Dachshund'? WHAT is the idea of giving the domesticated dog a Latin binomen?? WHAT does Canis familiaris ACTUALLY mean? BTW: MOST cultivars of plants are NOT line-bred but hybridised extensively. And even a line-bred result is a cultivar NOT a species. And to boot: Nature does NOT line-breed with a pre-set goal. Wilbert +More ----- Original Message ----- To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L Sent: donderdag 21 juni 2001 5:25 Subject: Line breeding vs hybridization > My impression is that Symphysodon discus was "improved" by line breeding, not > hybridization. Line breeding is where one selects from a large population those > parents which bring the breeder towards the characteristics s/he finds most > desirable, continuing the selection for many generations. It is this pursuit of > "perfection" which has give rise to the domesticated dog, no longer quite the > wolf. This is commonly done with many kinds of plants, FCCs are given to > outstanding ( by someone's definition) examples of a species. Of course, a pack > of dogs is nothing compared to a pack of wolves. Similarly our "improved" line > bred species are no longer as able to survive in the wild. > > Iza Goroff > Whitewater Wisconsin USA > > Ron Iles wrote: > > > ...But one example dear to me is Symphysodon, "Discus", arguably the "King" of > > Aquarium Fishes. Over less than three decades, the arbitrary & mostly > > undocumented complex hybridisation of these supremely specialised creatures > > has produced the most extreme degradation of Nature's nobility & adapted > > biodiversity. All for Man's sensationalism. > >

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