Ernst Mayr - Forms Quotes

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Two forms or species are sympatric, if they occur together, that is if their areas of distribution overlap or coincide. Two forms (or species) are allopatric, if they do not occur together, that is if they exclude each other geographically. The term allopatric is primarily useful in denoting geographic representatives.

Ernst Mayr

Given the fact of evolution, one would expect the fossils to document a gradual steady change from ancestral forms to the descendants. But this is not what the paleontologist finds. Instead, he or she finds gaps in just about every phyletic series.

Ernst Mayr

The use of keys in identification is old indeed. Much of Aristotle's classifications of animals was presented in the form of simple dichotomous alternatives.

Ernst Mayr