R
rdean
Guest
Just watching a special on 16 mouse lemur species in northwestern Madagascar. Seems there used to be one but when continents collided and created the Himalayas the weather patterns changed and created the Monsoons. Six months dry and six months of rain with as much as 10 inches falling in a day.
The downpour created deeper and wider rivers which eventually created islands. The separation over millions of years let mouse lemurs evolve into separate species which can no longer successfully mate because of genetic divergence.
Scientists thought there was only one species because they look the same. Visually, you can't tell them apart. "Classic" Cryptic Speciation. Only by genetic study. Or so we thought. So if we can't tell the difference, how can they?
Being nocturnal, they have no need of "color". Their habitats are similar so there is no driving environmental change making them different.
It's all about "smell" and their "song". Each species has it's own smell and it's own song. Because, like bats, their voice is above our range, we can only hear the song if we lower the frequency. And the songs are extremely different. They only react to those of their same species.
You know what this means, right? It means evolution is going to change us even without being driven by environmental changes. As scientists learn more and more, there is a "correction factor". It shows that science is not dogma. Study and research can change perception. Even when our eyes tell us these are the same, science tells us, "No, they are different".
I wonder if zoo breeders had a difficult time trying to breed these creatures without realizing they are different species. I wonder how many others there are? I wonder how long the right wing can cling to the idea that "mysticism" is the driving force of evolution? And that science is a faith?
The downpour created deeper and wider rivers which eventually created islands. The separation over millions of years let mouse lemurs evolve into separate species which can no longer successfully mate because of genetic divergence.
Scientists thought there was only one species because they look the same. Visually, you can't tell them apart. "Classic" Cryptic Speciation. Only by genetic study. Or so we thought. So if we can't tell the difference, how can they?
Being nocturnal, they have no need of "color". Their habitats are similar so there is no driving environmental change making them different.
It's all about "smell" and their "song". Each species has it's own smell and it's own song. Because, like bats, their voice is above our range, we can only hear the song if we lower the frequency. And the songs are extremely different. They only react to those of their same species.
You know what this means, right? It means evolution is going to change us even without being driven by environmental changes. As scientists learn more and more, there is a "correction factor". It shows that science is not dogma. Study and research can change perception. Even when our eyes tell us these are the same, science tells us, "No, they are different".
I wonder if zoo breeders had a difficult time trying to breed these creatures without realizing they are different species. I wonder how many others there are? I wonder how long the right wing can cling to the idea that "mysticism" is the driving force of evolution? And that science is a faith?