Question about evolution

[ignoramus]

yes and no... you need to watch the evolution docos.
There are many instances of independently evolved animals ....EG the octopus eye and the human eye are very similar but have nothing in common in evolution and are wired up differently. eg: the octopus doesn't have the human blind spot in its design.

So much for irreducible complexity bullshit. There are so many countless examples which support natural evolution, once you understand them, you'll realise how masterfully wonderful and resilient nature is. And she did it all blindly and without a conscious thought. That is where the real magic is!

[Alex K]

Would it be reasonable to say there may be as yet undiscovered independently evolved humanoids? Or have we explored the world so thoroughly now as to pretty much discount this? (I'm talking about just on earth).

Yeah thats fair. I am starting to think that what is more likely, is the fact that they were more evolved. So they didn't have as much need to migrate. They could make better due with there surroundings.

There's a different aspect to that. They also might have been so specially adapted to their environment that it was very difficult to migrate north, of all directions.

Someone mentioned that they could control the climate, I don't know about that but I see an advantage to being able to have stable living condition. And besides, who wouldn't want to live in Europe. 

I can think of a few million people...
I mean it's great and all, but just so crowded!

So that begs the question for me, how come there wasn't an offshoot of Lucies that made it to even eastern china or canada?

Honest question - how sure are we that they didn't?

[Regina]

Please excuse me if I don't use the correct scientific language... I have a question about how the animal kingdom is spread out over the world. For example, you have bears in almost all the continents, felines, primates, fish in the lakes, or even snakes are to be found all over the world. But how come early hominids are seemingly only found around the northern africa/europe area? I apologize if any of this is incorrect. I just was thinking about it and was surprised that hominids haven't branched out in a more diverse way around the earth. It seems like other animals diversified and spread out but humans are concentrated in a smaller area. Hope the question makes sense, thanks!

PS completely unrelated... how do I use the quote function so that when I reply to someone I don't have to have their entire reply quoted, thanks

It's to do with timing more than likely

I'd assume the cat species and other mammals may have evolved and spread earlier, perhaps at a time when sea levels were lower so they could reach other continents easier. Cats especially also have greater adaptability to a wide variety of environments that early hominids might not have had, which helped them to spread easier.

The Americas are very isolated, even from Siberia (the nearest land by way of the Bering straight) so no species of large ape ever reached it before the first humans (the ancestors of Native Americans) did. They could only reach Alaska and then move down into the Americas during the last ice age, when the Bering strait closed up. Australia too is easily the most isolated continent, which is why there has always been a lack of large indigenous predators there. Dinosaurs never reached Australia, thus Australia has "unique" mammals that died everywhere else, like kangaroos.

This question isn't so much to do with evolution, it's more about geography. Fish can also get around the world easier since oceans are more connected to eachother than continents are.

[Cyberman]

And they can swim, of course.

[Minimalist]

is how hominids have been around for millions of years and were always more intelligent

You have an enormous leap of logic there.  Evidence suggests that the increase in brain size only came about when certain hominids began eating meat.

http://www.livescience.com/23671-eating-...human.html

Past research suggested prehuman hominids such as australopithecines may have eaten some meat. However, it is the regular consumption of meat that often is thought to have triggered major changes in the human lineage, the genus Homo, with this high-energy food supporting large human brains.

[Cato]

So that begs the question for me, how come there wasn't an offshoot of Lucies that made it to even eastern china or canada?

Because they did:

[Secular Elf]

There are many fantastic YouTube docos on the early earth!
Watch 'em!   Everything will fall into place...

Excellent suggestion.  I offer these vids up for help, from general science to specific.

Part A)
Plate Tectonics—A Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-HwPR_4mP4

How Evolution Works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOfRN0KihOU

Earth's Paleogeography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNmUd43pabg

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