Not having a science background, I've always wondered if other animal species have races like we do. Or is "race" a more PC way of saying sub-species when it comes to people?

:confused:

 

Think of dogs. They are all in the Canis family, yet there are many different "races". These races can also interbreed, just like different human races can.

Our species is Homo sapiens. We are the only members left on the planet of this family. Other Homos that have walked the planet but are now extinct would be Homo habilus, and Homo erectus.

Boy you could make some good jokes here. Now if you want a good bio question, how did humans evolve into the different races?(or how did we get here ) That is, if you believe in evolution. I think I know more about this stuff than I do about how my car works.

 

There was a great docu-ology on PBS a while ago. It followed this research biologist who traced the progress of mankind across the globe by cataloging dna markers on the Human genome. He starts in africa and follows the trail around the world to America. I'm not sure if the science is irrefutable, but it sure was convincing.

 

Where's Dean when we need him

 

bigworm got the idea..that's the same idea I was going to post after first reading.

 

ok, but isn't the canine Family further subdivided into Genus and then further subdivided into Species? I'm not a dog fancier, but I've yet to hear of a particular dog described in terms of race. Breed, yes, but not race. Why are we different?

Also, the mention of breeding brings up another question. At what level of classification is interbreeding possible or impossible, or does it depend on the animal?

Googling found this:

http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/kids/science/...%20Taxonomy.htm

and this:

http://www.borg.com/~lubehawk/taxonmy.htm

which were very helpful, but still, the questions remain, what is the difference between race and subspecies, and why is the term race only used when describing the human animal?

 

Race as it relates to humans: people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock; "some biologists doubt that there are important genetic differences between races of human beings"

For animals, we often refer to "breed" to differentiate genetic differences: A genetic line having similar conformation and able to produce offspring with the same characteristics.

Similar, but not the same. Then again, some people DO BREED, while others have offspring. Hummm...

 

:trumpetfanfare: There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!

I'm not quite awake and I haven't had my coffee yet, but here goes...
To be classified as a species, an organism, generally speaking, cannot interbreed with another species. Domestic dog breeds can interbreed so they are lumped into a single species, Canis domesticus.
The concept of race in regard to humans is a silly artificial construct foisted on us by an anthropologist back in the eighteenth century. The genetic variances responsible for the differences between "races" are no more significant than those alleles responsible for differences in hair or eye color. From a genetic viewpoint, we are almost quite literally cousins.
Thanks to technology and modern travel, I expect that within twenty thousand years or so that we as a species will reach a very high level of homogeneity, and we'll be forced to look for other "reasons" to distrust and hate each other.

 

In 20000 years well probably be on the going extinct list as we're replaced with homo futura.

Either that or we'll be the last of our species.


fltsfshr

 

Extinction is certainly a possibility, but it's not very likely that we will have evolved into another species in twenty thousand year's time (barring any natural or anthropogenic events that would create conditions conducive to speciation). Our current behavior as a species is a very effective counter against the forces of natural selection.