Good question and welcome to the reflector, Russell. While I am not a
paleontologist, I am a biologist who suffered through a course in
comparative anatomy too many years ago. Basically, the paleontologists
studying dog fossils would have almost as much anatomical data to work from
as we do today. Since we can, today, distinguish between different canine
species (e.g., domestic dog, wolf, coyote, hyena, etc.) anatomically, why
couldn't a future paleontologist do the same?
However, it should be kept in mind that controversies in classification do
exist among paleontologists. This means that some fossil classifications
are relatively straightforward, while others are more difficult to assign.
It's kind of like interpreting the bible. Some passages are much easier to
understand than others--but somehow we keep on going.
Cheers,
Steve
____________________________________________________________
Steven S. Clark, Ph.D . Phone: 608/263-9137
Associate Professor FAX: 608/263-4226
Dept. of Human Oncology and Email: ssclark@facstaff.wisc.edu
UW Comprehensive Cancer Center
CSC K4-432
600 Highland Ave.
Madison, WI 53792
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