this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2023
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What’s in a name? (i.imgur.com)
submitted 2 years ago by NotSpez@lemm.ee to c/curatedtumblr@sh.itjust.works
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[–] Strawberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes, fish would be a morphology that includes gills, fins, streamlined body shape for swimming, etc. But there is no good phylogenetic definition because all the animals we call "fish" do not form a monophyletic group. The monophyletic group encompassing all fish would include also mammals, reptiles including birds, and amphibians because these all have fish ancestors

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

But there is no good phylogenetic definition because all the animals we call “fish”

The challenge was to come up with a group "which includes both trout and sharks but not humans". It seems like "gills" satisfies that pretty well.

[–] Strawberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 years ago

Animals with gills do not form a monophyletic group.