What is a species?

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  • "種"とはなにか
  • シュ トワ ナニカ

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However the species may be defined, it has neither a structural organization defined by all its members nor a function to integrate them. There is no absolute and universal factor to substantiate the grouping of individuals into a species. There are only individuals, and no framework of species exists in nature. In this sense, it can be said that the species has no reality. All of the taxonomic categories, including species, are nothing but categories, since these are human concepts and there is nothing in nature to verify their actual existence. The species is neither a natural unit, nor an evolutionary unit. Even so, there is no doubt that in nature there are distinct assemblages of individuals(in terms of similarity of their attributes). These assemblages of individuals are categorized into what we call species according to their attributes. In this sense, the species may be said to exist, as do other taxa in the taxonomic hierarchy also. In this case, too, what exists are only groups of individuals, and these have nothing to certify themselves as belonging to species, as mentioned above. There are no essential differences between species and other taxa in the taxonomic hierarchy. In this paper, the species is defined as follows : a species is a group of individuals similar in attributes and differing distinctly in taxonomically important characters from other such groups. In this definition 'similar'must be homologous, and 'taxonomically important characters'should be considered for each particular case. This definition is believed to accord well with the so-called taxonomic species concept which seems to have been most widely accepted. Species should be delimited based on the similarity in attributes possessed by the individuals. For this delimitation, we need to conduct a synthetic study and take into account various aspects of organisms. Delimitation of species by a single criterion, such as reproductive isolation, is inadequate. In this paper, I also explain why Mayr's definition of a species is inadequate, and I counter his criticisms towards the nominalistic recognition of species.

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