(March 22, 2016 at 6:56 pm)AJW333 Wrote: I realize that the dictionary isn't necessarily the best source for scientific definitions but there seems to be consensus that this is the correct definition,
"Biology. the major subdivision of a genus or subgenus, regarded as the basic category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species."
If this is the case, then lions and tigers would be the same species.
You're stressing the wrong words: "composed of related individuals that resemble one another," is also a part of that sentence. Physiology also plays a role in determining species delineations, not just interbreeding, which is why we have another term, hybridization, which describes interbreeding between distinct species. Tigers and Lions, while closely related on a meta-level, are still distinct species due to divergences in their physical appearance and genetics, while still being close enough together taxonomically to interbreed and create hybrid offspring.
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