20 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Dogs are Evolved from Wolves Through Artificial Selection
Take the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), a single species that
comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and temperaments. Every single one, purebred or mutt, descends from a single ancestral species—most likely
the Eurasian gray wolf—that humans began to select about 10,000 years
ago. The American Kennel Club recognizes 150 different breeds, and
you’ve seen many of them: the tiny, nervous Chihuahua, perhaps bred
as a food animal by the Toltec of Mexico; the robust Saint Bernard,
thick...Breeders are able to sculpt dogs into whatever they desire. Experimental proof of evolution.
20 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Skeletal Similarities in Mammals
What a piece of work is the mammalian skeleton. I don't mean it is beautiful in itself,
although I think it is. I mean the fact that we can talk about 'the' mammalian skeleton at all: the fact
that such a complicatedly interlocking thing is so gloriously different across the mammals, in all its
parts, while simultaneously being so obviously the same thing throughout the mammals. Our own
skeleton is familiar enough to need no picture, but look at this skeleton of a bat. Isn't it fascinating
ho...There are corresponding bones across species, evolved into other functions.