Why are different breeds of dogs all considered the same species?
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Full question: How come some similar animals are different species, while with domestic dogs, wildly dissimilar types are considered different breeds?
-- Z. Kornberg, Jerusalem
Michael Bruford, a professor of biological sciences at Cardiff University in Wales, explains the thought process behind this seeming double standard.
Scientists have been distinguishing between species on the basis of how they look, behave or live since recorded history began. However, two famous scientists stand out in terms of how we perceive species differences today: Carl Linnaeus, an 18th-century Swedish naturalist, and Charles Darwin. Linnaeus was the first person to formulate a single approach for describing species in a hierarchical manner according to their similarity, using his binomial nomenclature of genus followed by species (Homo sapiens, for instance). Darwin was among the first people, and certainly the most celebrated among them, to develop a credible theory on how species evolve (via natural selection). Both of these scientists' insights underpin most of what modern science utilizes when studying species and speciation.
Currently species are still primarily distinguished by their appearance, but it is becoming very clear that looks don't always tell us all we need to know about whether two organisms are different. Many so-called cryptic species exist that, to the untrained eye, look very similar or even identical to another organism--commonly found, for example, in nocturnal mammals such as bats and bush babies. If the two mated, however, they may never be able to produce viable offspring; this, in fact, is the primary criterion for dividing similar organisms into different species. Because of these red herrings--and also because the process of describing species is very long and labor-intensive--scientists are increasingly turning to DNA to assist them in identifying and describing species.
The definition of mate does not definite whether or not it is Natural or unnatural and if dogs mate in a lab and produce viable offspring then they are from the same species
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not all dogs are the same some can grow tall and others small like a bull dog and like huskeys blue eyes and tall and some have green eyes
I do agree but there are also many species. I also think this is very interesting on their opinions
Here the document gives a sort of base level species differentiation. If compared to dog breeds, which in many cases cannot naturally breed, should not be considered the same species.
Indeed, there is an endeavor under way at the moment called the Barcode of Life project, which aims to sequence all living organisms for a single gene that is common to them all, to produce a species "bar code." The key is that the sequence must vary greatly among species but not vary much within species. Such a bar code can then be used to identify organisms which may not be easily identified (such as tracing back what primate was the source of mysterious smoked meat in the rainforest) and even to distinguish organisms such as microbes that we cannot see or culture in the laboratory. There has been much debate among scientists about which DNA sequence is best for this purpose, and it is likely that a different sequence will work for each different kingdom of organisms. Currently a small gene found in the mitochondrial DNA of our cells--the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene--is most commonly used in identifying members of the kingdom Animalia; a huge database is already in place for many of the world's animals using this gene.
Domestic animals fascinated Darwin and continue to enthrall those of us who own pets. It is certainly curious how domestic dogs, which we know--because DNA bar coding has told us!--were raised by man from a wild gray wolf (Canis lupus) ancestor, can take on such a dramatic variety of forms. But among dogs, which are well known for their hybrid (or mongrel) varieties, different breeds can mate and have viable offspring, so they are all found under the umbrella of a single species, Canis familiaris.
I think that dogs are the same species. This is because they have similar DNA and they are part of the same species. They just have different physical traits, which means part of their genotype is different. Although, it’s similar enough for dogs to be the same species.
Dogs are highly unusual in their variation, from the Chihuahua to the Great Dane. (Recently, body size was found to be largely explained by differences in a single gene among dog breeds.) Darwin realized that man can force selection by picking particular individuals for breeding who show a particular characteristic that we want to see in our pets. So humans can accelerate the process of selection dramatically by exploiting the diversity naturally found in domestic forms and homing in on a form that is desirable. Natural selection usually acts more slowly, relying on what Darwin described as "descent with modification"--the chance arrival of new forms through DNA mutation.
Although dogs can be very different, like a chihuahua to a great dane, I think that they are the same species because their DNA is similar. The breeds of dogs are so similar because of inbreeding and purebred dogs. Otherwise, I think dogs would be more alike in their physical traits.
When one looks at different dog breeds, they see an enormous selection of different physical traits present. Even with this I still believe that all dogs are part of the same species because when looking into dog DNA, there is usually one shared gene causing the physical size differences but the rest of the DNA very similar. This means that all dogs are closely genetically the same other than physical traits.
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I personally believe that all dog breeds are the same species. A main reason people believe they are different is size, but the reason most dogs are different sizes is a single, shared gene. Thus, dogs are very genetically similar even though they may not be similar in certain physical traits.
I think that dog breeds are not different species because all dogs come from the same ancestors.
I believe that different dog breeds are the same species because they are genetically similar to each other. Even though they look different, their genetics are similar which is why they are the same species.
After reading the article, I believe that all breeds of dogs are apart of the same species. Yes, there are very clear physical differences between breeds, but it’s been proven that a large portion of this size variation is due to only one gene. With this, dogs are still extremely similar genetically, the individual breeds just differ physically.
I think all dog breeds are the same species, though I would argue that different sized dogs can mate with each other but that doesn’t change the species in my opinion. I don’t think different physical traits between dog breeds would make it a different species because size is a shared gene, which means dogs are similar with their genetics but have different physical traits.
If two dissimilar breeds of dogs mated, they would never be able to produce viable offspring. So, scientists have started relying on DNA to differentiate between different species. But, I still believe they are the same species, just different breeds!
They are the same species because they can mate with each other. it like saying Chinese and Japanese people are different species they are both humans but with different traits.
I think that dog breeds are not different species, as in dogs come from same thing, early ancestors
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