Daud hasn't posted to either sbp or to for quite a while. I know that
Daud isn't a universally beloved figure, but I do miss him. He always
made for an interesting and intellectually stimulating conversation. I
hope nothing too untoward has happened to him, and that wherever he is
he is doing well.

On Sun, 15 Aug 2021 22:17:18 -0400, Oxyaena <oxyaena@invalid.invalid>
wrote:

>Daud hasn't posted to either sbp or to for quite a while. I know that
>Daud isn't a universally beloved figure, but I do miss him. He always
>made for an interesting and intellectually stimulating conversation. I
>hope nothing too untoward has happened to him, and that wherever he is
>he is doing well.

He's still quite active in sci.anthropology.paleo

On Monday, August 16, 2021 at 9:27:17 AM UTC-4, Pandora wrote:
> On Sun, 15 Aug 2021 22:17:18 -0400, Oxyaena <oxy...@invalid.invalid>
> wrote:
> >Daud hasn't posted to either sbp or to for quite a while. I know that
> >Daud isn't a universally beloved figure, but I do miss him. He always
> >made for an interesting and intellectually stimulating conversation. I
> >hope nothing too untoward has happened to him, and that wherever he is
> >he is doing well.

On the other hand: you, Pandora, should be universally admired here,
along with Inyo. Both of you invariably make solid contributions to
sci.bio.paleontology, and the majority of yours are genuinely thought-provoking.
I wish you could contribute more often, but I understand the difficulties of doing that.

> He's still quite active in sci.anthropology.paleo

It used to be that Mario was as active there as Daud, but lately he has
been preoccupied by other things. I'm trying to help him get back on an even keel.

Here is a paleontological issue of more than average importance, which I hope
you can tell us about the current thinking on, even if you do not contribute anything
to it yourself. A while back, Donald Prothero did some major splitting of
the iconic "dawn horse" Hyracotherium: something like four separate genera,
with *Hyracotherium* itself reclassified as a Palaeothere, IIRC.
What's the opinion of other mammalian paleontologists on that?

Peter Nyikos
Professor, Dept. of Mathematics -- standard disclaimer--
University of South Carolina
http://people.math.sc.edu/nyikos

On Sunday, August 15, 2021 at 10:17:22 PM UTC-4, Oxyaena wrote:
> Daud hasn't posted to either sbp or to for quite a while. I know that
> Daud isn't a universally beloved figure, but I do miss him. He always
> made for an interesting and intellectually stimulating conversation. I
> hope nothing too untoward has happened to him, and that wherever he is
> he is doing well.

Thanks, I'm just continuing to research human evolution. I was stretched too thin on time before.

Recently, a "Letter" on the evolutionary advantage of the human chin, I supplied some good answers.

The link below is from another person's comment, but you can see many others too including my own.

https://www.academia.edu/s/0ca99c653a#comment_909528

Humans & hylobatids uniquely share: chin, drinking with 2 cupped hands, obligate orthograde bipedalism and other traits not found in other primates or anthropoids or hominoids.

Best wishes, DD.

On Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:35:57 -0700 (PDT), Peter Nyikos
<peter2nyikos@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Monday, August 16, 2021 at 9:27:17 AM UTC-4, Pandora wrote:
>> On Sun, 15 Aug 2021 22:17:18 -0400, Oxyaena <oxy...@invalid.invalid>
>> wrote:
>> >Daud hasn't posted to either sbp or to for quite a while. I know that
>> >Daud isn't a universally beloved figure, but I do miss him. He always
>> >made for an interesting and intellectually stimulating conversation. I
>> >hope nothing too untoward has happened to him, and that wherever he is
>> >he is doing well.
>
>On the other hand: you, Pandora, should be universally admired here,
>along with Inyo. Both of you invariably make solid contributions to
>sci.bio.paleontology, and the majority of yours are genuinely thought-provoking.
>I wish you could contribute more often, but I understand the difficulties of doing that.
>
>> He's still quite active in sci.anthropology.paleo
>
>It used to be that Mario was as active there as Daud, but lately he has
>been preoccupied by other things. I'm trying to help him get back on an even keel.
>
>
>Here is a paleontological issue of more than average importance, which I hope
>you can tell us about the current thinking on, even if you do not contribute anything
>to it yourself. A while back, Donald Prothero did some major splitting of
>the iconic "dawn horse" Hyracotherium: something like four separate genera,
>with *Hyracotherium* itself reclassified as a Palaeothere, IIRC.

That was David Froelich in 2002:

https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/134/2/141/2624157

>What's the opinion of other mammalian paleontologists on that?

Challenges to this cladotaxonomy have come from Lucas & Kondrashov
(2004) and Rej & Lucas (2016):

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281111079

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308419692

On 8/19/21 9:38 AM, Pandora wrote:
> On Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:35:57 -0700 (PDT), Peter Nyikos
> <peter2nyikos@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Monday, August 16, 2021 at 9:27:17 AM UTC-4, Pandora wrote:
>>> On Sun, 15 Aug 2021 22:17:18 -0400, Oxyaena <oxy...@invalid.invalid>
>>> wrote:
>>>> Daud hasn't posted to either sbp or to for quite a while. I know that
>>>> Daud isn't a universally beloved figure, but I do miss him. He always
>>>> made for an interesting and intellectually stimulating conversation. I
>>>> hope nothing too untoward has happened to him, and that wherever he is
>>>> he is doing well.
>>
>> On the other hand: you, Pandora, should be universally admired here,
>> along with Inyo. Both of you invariably make solid contributions to
>> sci.bio.paleontology, and the majority of yours are genuinely thought-provoking.
>> I wish you could contribute more often, but I understand the difficulties of doing that.
>>
>>> He's still quite active in sci.anthropology.paleo
>>
>> It used to be that Mario was as active there as Daud, but lately he has
>> been preoccupied by other things. I'm trying to help him get back on an even keel.
>>
>>
>> Here is a paleontological issue of more than average importance, which I hope
>> you can tell us about the current thinking on, even if you do not contribute anything
>> to it yourself. A while back, Donald Prothero did some major splitting of
>> the iconic "dawn horse" Hyracotherium: something like four separate genera,
>> with *Hyracotherium* itself reclassified as a Palaeothere, IIRC.
>
> That was David Froelich in 2002:
>
> https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/134/2/141/2624157
>
>> What's the opinion of other mammalian paleontologists on that?
>
> Challenges to this cladotaxonomy have come from Lucas & Kondrashov
> (2004) and Rej & Lucas (2016):
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281111079
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308419692
>
The first seems motivated by a simple dislike of cladistic
classification, not actual science. The second at least relies on
evidence that certain species assigned to different genera should be
synonymized, but it doesn't restore Hyracotherium to its prior status,
only collapses a couple of the erected genera.