comment on sloppy wording in "Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata"
Rudolf Meier, National University of Singapore
22 March 2007
In a recent article in BMC Evolutionary Biology on "Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata" (2007 7:6), the authors state in the first sentence of the abstract that "Sirenia (manatees, dugongs and Stellars sea cow) have no evolutionary relationship with other marine mammals, despite similarities in adaptations and body shape." This implies that Sirenia are some kind of special creation and that they do not share a common ancestor with all other mammals.
Although I am reasonably sure that the authors are not seriously proposing a "special creation" for Sirenia, I would argue that this kind of sloppy wording has no place in a BMC Evolutionary Biology article unless the journal wants to become the favored hunting ground for creationists and supporters of intelligent design who are looking for publications that seemingly support "special creation".
comment on sloppy wording in "Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata"
22 March 2007
In a recent article in BMC Evolutionary Biology on "Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata" (2007 7:6), the authors state in the first sentence of the abstract that "Sirenia (manatees, dugongs and Stellars sea cow) have no evolutionary relationship with other marine mammals, despite similarities in adaptations and body shape." This implies that Sirenia are some kind of special creation and that they do not share a common ancestor with all other mammals.
Although I am reasonably sure that the authors are not seriously proposing a "special creation" for Sirenia, I would argue that this kind of sloppy wording has no place in a BMC Evolutionary Biology article unless the journal wants to become the favored hunting ground for creationists and supporters of intelligent design who are looking for publications that seemingly support "special creation".
Competing interests
None declared