Chapter VIII addresses the idea that species had special characteristics that prevented hybrids from being fertile in order to preserve separately created species. Darwin said that, far from being constant, the difficulty in producing hybrids of related species, and the viability and fertility of the hybrids, varied greatly, especially among plants. Sometimes what were widely considered to be separate species produced fertile hybrid offspring freely, and in other cases what were considered to be mere varieties of the same species could only be crossed with difficulty. Darwin concluded: "Finally, then, the facts briefly given in this chapter do not seem to me opposed to, but even rather to support the view, that there is no fundamental distinction between species and varieties." COUNT 3
QSN1 Why would hybrids have characteristics that keep them from being fertile? ANS1 in order to preserve separately created species QSN2 What are Darwin's thoughts on producing hybrids of related species? ANS2 the viability and fertility of the hybrids, varied greatly, especially among plants QSN3 What conclusion did Darwin come to after realizing that some diverse species were able to create variations easily, while other species thought to be closely related had difficulty? ANS3 support the view, that there is no fundamental distinction between species and varieties