Originally posted by ~Dave
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There's a hierarchy of life, if you will - a taxonomic rank.
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Take penguins, 'cause that's what we started with in this discussion.
What we call "penguin" refers to the entire Family of these aquatic, flightless birds.
So "penguin" can refer to Emperor Penguins, or it can refer to King Penguins, or it can refer to Royal Penguins. They're all part of the Family Spheniscidae.
But it's important to remember that in this Family there are Genera of penguins. And in each Genus there are many different species of penguin.
An Emperor Penguin and a King Penguin are in the same Genus but they are not the same species.
Same goes for humans.
The modern human is the species called Homo sapiens. But the word "human" refers to the genus "Homo" which has about 13 species within it.
Populations are just geographical groupings. If a population of penguins breaks off within a species and breeds separate from the original population for long enough, then eventually if it meets certain criteria, it can be considered a new species.
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