Re: First Family and AAT

chris brochu (gator@mail.utexas.edu)
13 Oct 1995 16:15:12 GMT

In article <45kp7k$3ks@news.global1.net> Phil Nicholls,
pnich@globalone.net writes:
>>But that brings us back to my question about macropodids.
>>There are lots of hoppers down under, but only one biped in Africa.
>>Why?
>

Phylogenetically, there is one African biped and one Australian biped,
since bipedalism arose only once in each case. Both lineages diverged in
their past; Hominidae is now down to one species. Macropodidae is more
diverse, but keep in mind - they've been bipedal for roughly 40 million
years.

You've actually asked a very interesting question - why is Hominidae not
more diverse? Unfortunately, none of the hypotheses we are arguing here
addresses this issue. True, forest bipeds (macropodids) are diverse, but
so are semiaquatic bipeds. Ever look at a field guide to birds?
Shorebirds are extremely diverse.