go Evolution and Adaptation 



very much alike, it would soon be impossible to say what 

 the parentage of a particular form was ; that is, to which of 

 the two original forms it belonged. It has also been sug- 

 gested that even a convergence has at times taken place, so 

 that the descendants of different species have become more 

 alike than the original forms, at least in some one or more re- 

 spects. This last limitation is the saving clause, for species 

 differ in so many points that, even when they converge in a 

 few, it is unlikely that they will do so in all, and, therefore, 

 the deception may be discovered by the acute observer. One 

 famous paleontologist has gone so far even as to suppose that 

 a species may change its generic characters, so that it goes 

 over bodily into a new genus without losing its specific char- 

 acters. If such things do occur, then our classifications may 

 well be the laughing-stock of Nature. 



