Peter Borger's credentials revealed

Dear John,You wrote:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by peter borger:
So what is it?
An intermediate(ancestor) with respect to Gorilla and Southern-Ape, that walked with bended knees?
Man or monkey, that's the question.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------PeterB:You are being intentionally obtuse.Please come up with a substantial reply.I say:
Have a close look at the skulls of these primates. To me it is obvious that sahel-man's foramen magnum is an intermediate between the southern-ape and man. So, actually I don't see why it is lined up as it is in the figure? At least, the foramen magna don't justify this sequence.
Therefore, my question monkey or man? But, Quetzal already mailed that it is neither. According to him, it is just another species.Best wishes,
Peter[This message has been edited by peter borger, 10-10-2002]

Dr. Borger, I put Sahelanthropus, Australopithecus, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens in the order of appearance. The gorilla serves as a surrogate to an earlier, still-unknown (or should i say hypothetical) ape before Sahelanthropus' time. Anyway, if you would do some looking, you will also find good evidence that Australopithecus is a biped, albeit factultatively. It seems that you want us to decide whether Sahelanthropus is a man or a monkey. If that's your options then I'd go for the man... Sahel-man walks bipedally and no monkey walks like that.Or, I regret to have to ask this to you, but do you know the distinction between monkeys and [b]apes[/i]? You seem to confuse the two, but I assume that you understand what you mean.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by peter borger:
Therefore, my question monkey or man? But, Quetzal already mailed that it is neither. According to him, it is just another species. [/B][/QUOTE]Yep. Only way anyone can claim otherwise is if they could show Sahelanthropus should actually be classified as a member of one of the existing species of primates.

quote:

---

Originally posted by peter borger:
Have a close look at the skulls of these primates. To me it is obvious that sahel-man's foramen magnum is an intermediate between the southern-ape and man.

---

PeterB, no one is arguing this point.

quote:

---

So, actually I don't see why it is lined up as it is in the figure? At least, the foramen magna don't justify this sequence.

---

Andya explained this.

quote:

---

Therefore, my question monkey or man?

---

Yes, your question. Quetzal's right. This is like asking "Chimpanzee, baboon or gorrilla?"The debate over the foramen magnum of sahelanthropus is about its gait, not its place in our ancestry, though the two may be tied. And the foramen magnum suggests probably bipedality.------------------
http://www.hells-handmaiden.com