vaporwave writes:
This nested hierarchy is as changeable as any common ancestry narrative will allow.
Prove it.
For example, an animal group with an even mix of bird and mammal traits would not necessarily violate a nested hierarchy,
It would violate a nested hierarchy. Period.
So yes, animals must fall into "a" nested hierarchy, but this is a very soft criteria to meet.
It isn't soft at all. Your criticisms have all been off the mark.