I knew you’d be shocked!!! ;)
I did some research of my own (ok, I looked on the internet!) several years ago because I got interested in chromosome numbers and interbreeding. I found some really interesting info (did you know that bananas are tetroid—4 sets of chromosomes— and cannot produce viable seeds? They only reproduce from cuttings). But wolves, dogs, coyotes and jackals have the same number of chromosomes, which seems to me indicate the same species. I’m thinking they need to change some of the definitions and maybe invent some new terms (hey someone could probably get a grant for that!)
Oh, and I ran across an article that states that lions and tigers also have the same number of chromosomes, which of course is why they can (but don’t always) produce fertile offspring. You can read it (it’s interesting stuff).
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Genetics-1795/hybrids-sterile.htm#b
susie
I knew bananas were grown from cuttings and last I heard there was some concern about the banana crop and food shortages but that’s all I recall.
Someone on a crevo thread sometime back commented that skeletally, tigers and lions were identical so if you were going by fossil remains, you couldn’t tell the difference. The only reason we know they’re different species is that they are alive today and we can see the surface differences. Which really made me wonder if they are. Seems that slight differences in fur length, patterns of markings, and color shouldn’t be enough to designate species. Look at wolves and dogs again, and even the variety within the domesticated dog varieties.