...on the old stories of interbreeding, David. Of course, it is foolhardy to attempt to determine the phylogeny of an animal which may not exist, but let me make a fool of myself.
If sasquatch is evolved through the ape lineage (by far the most reasonable assumption based upon current evidence) you can safely assume genetic incompatibility with H. sapiens sapiens. If the speculation of some is correct that sasquatch is a descendent of the late East African robust australopithecines (a speculation which has little to recommend it IMHO) you can assume incompatibility with only a slightly lower level of comfort - perhaps a billion to one.
If somehow your assumption of viable interbreeding were to be borne out, bear in mind that genetic compatibility is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a same species determination. The morphologically distinct populations must not only be capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring, but must actual normally do so in nature. If such interbreeding does not occur in nature because of some barrier, either geographical, behavorial or even time based (as with a fossil and modern species)then the taxonomist may properly find separate species. That is undoubtedly what would occur here. Comprende?
Posted on Nov 6, 2002, 8:39 PM from IP address 205.188.209.69