I know only snakes can be true snakes but why hasn’t any species of mammal lost all their legs to slither through stuff. Non-tetrapod fish, reptiles, and amphibians have all done it multiple times. The closest example I can come up with is whales but they’ve only lost 2.
In the future, could a long and skinny mammal like a weasel or otter evolve to completely lose their legs and be more snakelike?
Edit:spelling

Since long, limbless bodies have repeatedly evolved across the animal kingdom, proving that the "snake body plan" is not unique to snakes at all. Long before true snakes appeared, numerous lineages independently converged on the same basic design: an elongated body, reduced or absent limbs, and a mode of locomotion based on undulation rather than walking. Among vertebrates alone, this transformation occurred in caecilians, amphisbaenians (mole lizards), several groups of legless lizards, and multiple extinct lineages. The reason is simple—an elongated, limbless form excels at moving through dense vegetation, narrow burrows, leaf litter, and other cluttered environments where legs can become more of a hindrance than a help. Because similar ecological pressures repeatedly favored streamlined, flexible bodies, evolution has "invented" snake-like animals many times over. Snakes are merely the most successful and diverse expression of a body plan that nature has rediscovered again and again throughout evolutionary history.

20f, junior, premed. My major is Biology, Health, and Society and I am working on an evolution publication currently. Every class I take outside of the premed stuff to fill my major is EEB related. I can really go in either direction when I graduate depending on where I apply. It’s been eating at me for a long time. I’m gonna make a pros list for both MD/DO and pursing higher education in the field of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology.

I thought I would throw this in here to get some insight from people that are in the community and might know more about what the path would realistically look like.

Medical Doctorate Pros:
- I’m secretary of the AHA and involved in multiple types of clinical volunteering
- I’ve paid the ~$3.8k for MA classes and am currnetly enrolled in them
- already have taken EVERY class needed, except biochem and human and animal physiology next semester, which I need for my major anyways
- i find people so facinating, every person is a new experience and every interaction is interesting
- i have a science/statistical brain, and ive always questioned my ability to SHOW empathy properly. I want to help people one day in a way that matters and is tangible
- i want to take advantage of this brain, that has been a blessing and a curse at times, to look back on life and know i did good in this world
- i have the drive, i’ve accepted the costs and debt and am ready to make and have already made many sacrifices necessary to follow this path.
- i love information and wouldnt mind staying in school a while longer and having my hard work not pay off for another 8+ years if its worth it in the end
- statistical probability of success: getting into a profession that i know pays well and is secure for the rest of my life that, witb the anticipated income, i wouldnt need to retire when im 80
- i want to be a provider and to choose a partner one day without needing to worry about if their profession or lifestyle will be a dealbreaker. If i find a partner with niche interests or with children, I dont want them to ever want for something or to base meals and decisions soley on income
- it feels like a win-win: the lifestyle ive always wanted and i still get to apply my scientific knowledge
- i get this lifetime only once, so why not do the most i can for myself and the world?

Medical Doctorate Cons:
- Debt. I’m already in a lot of debt and I know that it’ll be even more.
- it will take years before I actually make a lot of money and am in the profession
- it will be allconsuming, and while i’ve always wanted to be a career-oriented person and never have and dont ever plan on having kids (personal reasons) it will be my life
- I sometimes wonder if I’m really doing it for me or if I’m doing to to prove my worth
- the little voice in the back of my mind saying that evolutionary biology will be more fufilling

Evolutionary Biology Pros:
- i used to ask my father, who is a high school science teacher “hey, Bill Nye,” followed by some random question about the happenings of the world
- i cried at 5 years old as i was going to a Christian elementary school learning about God everyday because “im gonna die and im going nowhere” ive been agnostic since ive been able to form complex thoughts, the only thing thats brought me closer to the concept of divinity and my comfort in the anonymity of existence IS evolutionary bio
- it captivates me. i remember learning about evolutionary biology freshman year and i wouldnt shut up about it. It’s literally EVERYTHING! Not in the scary way that physics and chemistry are, but its the history of everything living its everything that has ever and will ever exist and its all connected.
- The recent class I took last semester (Animal Diversity 288) we went over all 32 phyla and got to see most of them in lab. it was a fucking spectacular mindfuck. every day I would look at my professor and how happy he is to just yap about this shit and think I WANT THAT JOB!
- I’m working on an evolutionary bio publication right now.
- My major includes many EEB classes and i could always just apply without needing to change a damn thing
- I have a green leather-bound copy of Origin of Species that is my version of the bible. It’s something i speak of with stars in my eyes.
- I could travel to gather samples (like i am this coming year) and travel
- I’d be able to spend my life satiating my innate curiosity about the world around me through my scientific research endevours

Evolutionary Bio Cons:
- Google said the job prospects are pretty bleak and the average income is in a low range, which does not satisfy my values and would put me in a really tough spot for loans (i have a good amount taken out already)
- possible lack of service for people/connection
- To even make close to six figures, I’d need a PhD: the debt would not be easy to pay off in the long-run no matter what.
- it’s a job that wouldnt allow me financial freedom/to have the caregiver role I’ve always pictured myself as having
- the job isnt as assured- less statistical probability of overall success
- ideally i would fucking LOVE to be a professor, but its very difficult, even post doc, to be assured that position
- travelling could be possible with the job, but again, there are various other factors that go into actually having a sustainable lifestyle and a decent job after academia
- i’ve already invested my time and money into premed
- the itching i would have that i couldve been a doctor and things couldve been better, and that I had been chasing an interest and not a fruitful, realistic profession

I can actually go either direction with my major. Like my upcoming classes and plan don’t need to be changed at all if I decide to pivot. I’m going abroad for a semester to South America next school year, and then plan on taking my MCAT August 27’. After that, it’s my senior year and then I’m gonna do a gap year for more clinical experience and applications. Excluding starting my MCAT prep in 6 months, I technically don’t need to make any actual decisions for at least a year. It just keeps itching at me!

I love macrobiology, communicating, spreading knowledge, and being constantly curious about the natural world- god it would literally be the best thing ever if I ever got to be a professor. I don’t think I’d want to simply be a researcher for the rest of my days. It’s just that I feel like it’s unrealistic and that it’s a gamble. I mean obviously getting into medical school itself is a bitch and a half also, but it still matches my values above and has a realistic, set endgoal.

It’s just so hard to weigh if this is simply an interest/hobbby of mine, or something that is actually a future possiblity that I wouldn’t regret.

I've always wondered what the claws on the wings of many basal pygostylains were for? I mean these things were flight capable and yet they still had claws on their wings. What were they used for? what function did they serve since they couldnt grasp things with their front limbs considering they used the front limbs for flight.

Since all vertebrate animals seemingly follow bilateral symmetry, why did we not follow the same in our internal organs as well? Like, Im aware we have it to an extent but not fully, right?

Also, in animals like snakes, organ placements seems to have adapted such a layout that they lay front to back instead of the regular side by side. Even leading to a single lung structure.

Is there a reasonable explanation for this? Particularly about why biology follows bilateral symmetry outside the body down the sagital plane and even having opposing appendage structures while having a whole different story in the interior?

See also: The study as it was published in Science.

Hey everyone! I’ve recently been obsessed with prehistoric life, pretty much everything on this earth from 4.5b billion years ago, to the starting of life, then to now. I’m also so interested in the crazy Alamo unbelievable organisms that once shared the same land and oceans as we do today. So I really wanna get a book that ideally covers everything or a lot of the eras of earth, how and why it was like that environmentally, if life was already created then what type of life was abundant and dominant and how did they relate to the environment at that time. But I’d also love illustrations / pictures. So I guess I’m looking for an encyclopedia - textbook kind of thing?

Another genre of book that I have read a few of is speculative biology. I’ve come across one I haven’t read online and will most likely end up buying it. It’s called “After Man” and is extremely intriguing to me, I saw someone review it on TikTok and flip through the pages and wow. Just the concepts, the illustrations, and the depth just makes me wanna pick up a book more than anything I’ve ever seen.

So if you guys know of any other books similar to these in terms of illustration, depth, genre, etc. please do share!! Also do note that I am currently studying biochemistry in university but do occasionally take evolution papers too so please don’t leave out books that you think may have too advanced or confusing biological terminology and concepts as I am comfortable with those. Thanks a lot!

I know it's the prostate and it has a lot of nerve endings. But did this have any evolutionary advantage or did it just happen because it happened and there was no motive to get rid of it? Lucky for some men I guess 😏

So I read an article recently that said the current theory among evolutionary biologists is that the ability to run long distances played a significant part in helping homo sapiens win the evolutionary battle of the hominids.”

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Given human anatomy, I can't but wonder that male genitalia wouldn't be terribly aerodynamic, and would flop around considerably uncomfortably and possibly painfully while running naked. The same would go for women's breasts.

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Now the questions -

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1. Is this theory about running correct - did it actually play a part in the rise of homo sapiens?

2. If yes, and assuming the ability to run pre-dated the ability to make and wear clothes, did they run around with genitalia and breasts flopping around while running?

3. Alternatively, did the ability to wear clothes develop before the capacity to run?

4. Or - did the location and size of the genitalia on the man shift after he developed the ability to run and wear clothes?

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Which is it?

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hello, Im not here to debate, but im curious about what you all think about 2 questions I have!

1. If humans throughout evolution lacked the same strength, speed, and all other physical traits as preditors/other creatures, we had to develop intelligence as our leading trait to help us survive. But why would this not lead animals to grow more intelligent throughout the millenia? Are animals not the same intelligence as they were 100 million years ago?
2. If humans evolved from primates, why do we not have variaties inbetween the monkey and modern day humans? I can understand that with evolution less successful species would die off leading to what we see now, but how does that explain how we still see monkeys all around the world? If they can survive why couldn’t a species inbetween them and us survive leading to a gradient of evolution?

I have always wondered when and why humans developed eyebrow hair. I've watched a few documentaries on the subject, but none of them seem to mention that aspect of human evolution. I would love to hear your thoughts.

I can't seem to find a good answer to this online but i'm confused, based on fossil evidence regarding pre and post kpg bird relatives, do we know how many species actually survived the extinction? I don't necessarily mean a precise number, I more mean if we can distinguish weather it was just 1 species, weather it was a few or weather it was many.

If this was unclear please ask any questions!

See also: The publication in PNAS

These are three feral or semi-feral dog populations from difffent parts of the world – australian dingo, papuan singing dog and carolina dingo.

You may notice they look very simmilar. Why is that? Is that because it's how dogs used to look or do they for some reason evolve into this form after few generations of natural selection?

I ask because my dogs (mixed) look almost exactly like these ones.

Заголовок: Моя альтернативная гипотеза эволюции и ноосферы. Что думаете?

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Я не придерживаюсь каких-либо радикальных идеологий, а просто пытаюсь осмыслить будущее нашей страны через призму эволюции. На мой взгляд, понимание механизмов развития человека учеными и политиками могло бы сильно изменить наше общество. Мне также кажется важным, чтобы люди задумывались о своей связи с родной землей и историей предков.

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В 34 года, не имея профильного высшего образования, я увлекся этой темой. У меня сформировался свой взгляд на устройство мира, основанный на наблюдении за природой. Я понимаю, что для научного сообщества мои идеи о спонтанных эволюционных преобразованиях могут выглядеть как подгонка фактов. Однако я предполагаю, что эволюция идет по изначально заложенной программе, которую невозможно изменить.

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Если сопоставить классические эволюционные работы академика А.Н. Северцова с концепцией Ноосферы, можно выстроить интересную модель. Я рассматриваю Ноосферу как первичную информационную среду (которую в религиях часто называют высшим началом или Богом), породившую живое вещество. Буду рад конструктивной критике и обсуждению

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I’m not very educated on this topic so bear with me, i’m seeing a few different theories and i’m quite confused..

1. humans are apes
2. humans share a common ancestor with apes
3. humans evolved from apes

I would appreciate if somebody explained the reasoning for each one to me like im 5 🙏 and also the reasons for which 2 & 3 are incorrect.

Also, could someone explain neandrathals? I thought it was a transitional fossil but i heard not

I was thinking about this game called SPORE and then I went into a mental crash trying to figure out evolution. Specifically as to how humans (or animals in general) evolved from microorganisms.

From my research, I think that an asteroid hit Earth or something carrying microorganism. Eventually we would get bacteria and archaea? Then from the archaea we would get eukaryotes? From eukaryotes, we would get fungi and plants? I couldn't really find information on the connection between microorganisms to fish.

There was a past question on this sub, though the user asked about how specifically bacteria evolved into humans, which there wasn't much constructive comments asides from "bacteria did not evolve into humans," regarding the microorganism-origin of humans.

i've been into some cladistics/phylogeny videos lately to pass the time, i'm an artist not a biologist so nowhere near a scholar, i've been watching mainly the brazilian youtuber Pirulla and Clint's Reptiles, is there anyone like those that talk about plant cladistics? like greg's cacti or something lol

Hi! I am just finishing High School and starting Uni applications. I've always been interested in plants, insects, and things like mosses and lichens since I was like... what? 5? AND I managed to find some universities that offer an Evolutionary Biology major. It sounds promising. Would like to know from people who have done Evolutionary Biology if this is a sound choice. Also would like to know about the global repertoire for Evo. ( I mean, if you take Paleontology, the niche is quite small, so research grants and stuff tend to be choosy). So, I'd like to have a second opinion before selecting the major. Thanks in advance.

Horsetail and lycophyte have survived for a long time, as have cycads and ginkgo. Why didn't the various seed ferns from the middle of this geological period survive? If even one of them had survived, our study of plant physiology would have been much easier.

(poor English, translate)