Michal Szkudlarek wrote:if they are different genetically they will probably display these differences in phenotype, right?
Right...supposedly, but as with everything else it's not so straightforward. As far as I know viridis and billineata were split into two "different" species based on their genotype while their phenotype is pretty much identical. So you tell me -
are differences in genes
always displayed in phenotype?
Did you read the article or just my post? That was the whole point - we could only discuss those things if we have more solid definitions.
Michal Szkudlarek wrote:it matters because effort of nature preservation focuses on genetic diversity so we have to take into consideration whether certain species is a living fossil for example, this will imply that it is very important to preserve it, genetics matters
I didn't say genetics don't matter. What I said is that it is not relevant in conservation because in my opinion to preserve a species the most important thing is to not f**k up its habitat, and either leave it alone or exploit it sustainably. And for this you need to know how it is adapted to the environment and how it utilizes it, how it fits in the whole ecosystem, not if it evolved from a lizard or a bird, to put it (very) bluntly. Besides, who are we to decide what the biodiversity should be and should not be and which genes are more important than others. This kind of God-like selective conservation isn't going to get us anywhere. I repeat, I'm not saying history of evolution is not fascinating and worth studying.