Morphology and the Katagenos Species Concept

started

The first section of the model I would like to look at is Form. When the created kinds originally appeared, they were separate and unique and fully functional. Any similarity in design was due to similarity in function and not by common ancestry. A Created kind has a recognizable shape that does not change significantly through time even if the surface features such as size, fur length, and coloration do change.

Our example will be these computer generated bird kinds. The kind on the left looks similar to some of the songbird kinds and the one on the right looks similar to the hummingbird kind. Although they have the similarities that come with being birds, there are many differences including the shape of the beak and the wing tips. The two basic forms shown here do not change throughout their respective species within their kind.

Katagenos Species Concept

One area of major confusion for believers is understanding the difference between species and kinds. Therefore, the development of a species concept formed within the perspective of Created Kinds is also needed. One the allows for a reproductive and genetic discontinuity between kinds and a continuity between breeds or species within a Kind.

The term 'katagenos' comes from the Greek Septuagint for the phrase 'after their kind'. The term 'kata' is more literally defined as 'down from' or 'after', while genos is defined as 'a kin' or 'a group' with common descent. The Katagenos Species Concept literally means the After their Kind Species Concept.

The Katagenos Species Concept treats species like breeds. It defines a species as a breed within a kind with a specific set of reproductively connected surface characteristics that produce a recognizable pattern. It is able to reproduce with others of the same species and potentially able to hybridize with other breeds/species within a Kind. It focuses on the ability to breed, gives strong attention to form and morphology, and uses habitats and geography only as indicators of where species boundaries may occur.

The active dynamics for change within a Kind are communication and environmental acclimation through the mechanism of genetic selection of already existing DNA. It currently combines the terminology of Baraminology, breeding techniques, and Linnaean classification in order to express these concepts.

The Katagenos Species Concept generally assumes that current taxonomy is correct from the Family level down and ignores the Order levels and up. However, the exact boundaries do vary for each kind.

This page is under construction. My apologies for any misspellings, repeated text, missing references, etc. Please visit again later for a more complete treatment of this topic.