In article ,
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , Phil
Gurr writes

Some evidence for that would make it more believable. I don't
know of a single example of a clear, natural speciation event in
higher animals or plants in that period, that wasn't the result
of an inter-species or inter-generic cross.

De Vries and evening primroses?

Evening primroses (Euoenothera) are one of the groups of plant with an
odd genetic system (permanent translocation heterozygosity), and what is
species is in this group is a little murky.

In this group both gigas forms (autotetraploids) and hybrid Renner
complexes have spontaneously occurred. But as they occurred under
cultivation Nick may not consider this natural speciation.

But there might be an example of an autopolyploid demonstrably less than
10,000 years old somewhere. I'd suggest Primula scotica as a candidate,
but perhaps it lived somewhere else during the Wurm.

But Nick probably intended a wider exclusion of both hybrids and
polyploids.

Yes, because this is not one such. Natural hybrids and polyploids
are sufficiently common that some species have probably originated
in that period.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.