Identification of skeletal remains of closely related species: the pitfalls and solutions

The paper explores the seldom-admitted fact that there are very few, if any, perfect osteological characters differentiating closely related species of similar size. Most characters described in various guide books to the identification of skeletal remains turn out to be less than perfect if a longer series of specimens is checked. However, the atypical or intermediate specimens that are sometimes found do not necessarily mean that the character is useless. It is suggested that from the ethical point of view it is acceptable to describe less than perfect characters provided that the cut-off frequency is explicitly stated.