RE: No Gods or Apples or "Sin" needed
November 29, 2015 at 5:53 pm
(This post was last modified: November 29, 2015 at 6:01 pm by Anomalocaris.)
(November 29, 2015 at 12:20 pm)Minimalist Wrote: http://www.newser.com/story/216748/scien...-legs.html
Quote:Scientists Finally Know Why Snakes Lost Their Legs
Apparently it was a need to burrow underground
Quote:What they found was a unique structure in the inner ear that controls balance and hearing and is shared only by burrowing animals. Modern snakes that live in water don't have it. Using that information, researchers determined the ancestors of modern snakes actually lost their limbs in order to hunt and live in burrows, per the press release.
You can bet your ass this won't be on display at the creatard "museum."
The article does not provide enough to elucidate why this discovery shows the common ancester of modern snakes lost their legs because of burrow living, or even that the common ancester of modern snakes were burrow living at all.
The burrow specific feature could easily have evolved in response to burrow living that developed separately from leglessness.
In fact, that fact that sea snakes lack the burrow specific feature weakens the argument that burrow specific feature in land snakes indicates common ancesters of snakes were burrow living. The argument for common ancesters of modern snake being burrow living would be strengthened if the burrow specific feature had been present in all snakes, land or water dwelling.
Since burrow specific inner ear structure appears to have arisen in diverse animals that adapted to burrow living independently, it shows that inner ear structure can clearly arise independently in different animals to meet a common need. What researchers need to show to support burrowing snake ancester theory is burrow specific features on land snakes did not in fact arise independently and separately in different snake families to meet some common environmental need, but is in fact a share primitive trait inherited form a common ancester that also had it. Furthermore they must also show the lack of burrow specific trait in sea snakes is not a primitive trait, but is in fact a derived trait. In other words, the burrow specific traits were present in ancesters of sea snakes but were subsequently lost when sea snakes stopped living in burrows, Furthermore they need to show the transition fossil of snake ancesters in the process of loosing external legs all had burrow specific features that are clearly ancester all to the burrow specific feature found in modern snakes.
