Comments on the Contemporary Systematics of Hominids - Vancata - 1986

Hominid systematics should respect not only the specific characters but also the general laws of systematics. The choice of the proper characters is one of the main problems. This characters must fit to the real evolution of the given group and not to respect pure classification of organisms only. Furthermore, the value of any selected character must be examined. This means for instance that the dentition need not be the best systematic identifier in all hominids because dentition has had changing selective value during hominid evolution. For this reason the dentition has been the source of many misinterpretations in hominid evolutionary studies. Several approaches to hominid systematics are examined. In insight to the problem between similary and interspecific relations is the second main problem of hominid systematics. Similarity is the primary source of the relations among populations. Three strategies of the transformation of similarity into type of relation (anagenetical, cladogenetical, and numerical taxonomical) are discused. The conclusion is proposed that functional evolutionary approach is inevitable for the consistent hominid systematics which should be based on the comparative studies of superfamily Hominoidea.

Keywords

Hominid systematics - Methodology and general problems - Similarity and family relation

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