Hey,
I have an assignment that involves discussing convergent evolution and I feel this is a good example within mammals. Zoology isn’t my field and I am having a bit of trouble looking for anatomical/phylogenetic studies or articles that talk about the evolution of flippers, so was wondering if any of yous had some links that I could use?
I find it particularly interesting how carnivoran and ungulate limbs have adapted very similarly in marine mammals despite their other clade members being very different.
Anything helps! Comparisons between penguin and mammal flippers are also useful.
Thank you!
The results for A01 are as follows:
Content: 17
Present: 14
A01 passes and is added to the bill. The amended bill is as follows:
###Animal Welfare (Cetacean Ban) Bill
A
Bill
To
Ban the holding of cetaceans in captivity
Section 1: Interpretations
(1) For the purposes of this Act, “cetacean” means any member of the cetacean order of animals.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, “an officer of the body corporate” refers to—
> (a) A director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, and > > (b) any person purporting to act in any such capacity.
Section 2: Cetaceans Ban
(1) It is an offence to hold cetaceans in captivity unless it is captive for the sole reason of providing it with medical care, assistance or rehabilitation following an injury or other state of distress.
(2) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under Section 2(1), and—
> (a) the crime was committed with the consent or knowledge of an officer of the body corporate, or > > (b) the crime can be linked to any negligence on the part of the officer,
then that officer, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of an offence.
Section 3: Extent, Commencement and Short Title
(1) This Act shall extend to England only unless—
> (a) The Scottish Parliament passes a legislative consent motion, in which case the Act shall extend to Scotland. > > (b) The Welsh Parliament passes a legislative consent motion, in which case the Act shall extend to Wales. > > (c) The Northern Ireland Assembly passes a legislative consent motion, in which case the Act shall extend to Northern Ireland.
(2) This Act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent.
(3) This Act shall be known as the Animal Welfare (Cetacean Ban) Act 2021.
This bill was written by The Right Honourable Baroness of Stratford-upon-Avon GBE PC and His Grace The Duke of Aberdeen KCT KG KT KCB KBE CVO PC on behalf of Coalition! Thanks go to /u/zygark for the body corporate language used within the Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019.
Vote content/not content/present on this bill by the 4th March 2021 at 10pm GMT.
Apologies for my absence, I have been finishing my final exams in order to graduate this upcoming weekend!
Cetaceans roam our oceans today as both immense predators and gentle giants. From the tiny Vaquita to the enormous Blue Whale (the largest animal currently known to inhabit our planet in all it's history) these marine mammals occupy some of the niches left open by the extinct sea-going reptiles of old. They began this journey some 50-55 million year ago as a terrestrial hoofed mammal no larger than a housecat.
What drove this return to the sea? What evidence do we have to support it? How could it occur so quickly?
This post aims to document the evolutionary transitions of cetaceans from their humble terrestrial beginnings to the majesty of the great organisms roaming our seas today, as well as examine the genetic and embryologic evidence for this journey. Finally, we will examine some of the qualms YEC sites have with the entire idea.
Key Sources:
Comparing Skeletal Structures (Excellent)
On Joint Transitions Specifically (Site is a bit messy)
Vestiges (Concise)
Genes Etc (Great)
Theistic Evolution Site (Informative)
Basic Wiki (For the Lazy)
Let's get started!
Part 1: Feet and Fins
As usual with these posts, we must identify what separates our "starting" species or genus from our "ending" species or genus. It is important to keep in mind that our classifications of organisms is an attempt to categorize a gradient of ever-changing forms; it's somewhat arbitrary. That said, these classifications serve to help us observe evolutionary trends.
Although first we must define some of the aspects of our modern cetacean's classification.
Modern cetaceans are apart of the order Artiodactyla, or, the even-toed ungulates. These are hoofed animals who bear weight on an even number of toes. But they have other defining characteristics, such as their scapula shape and unique joints (trochlear hinges) built for maintaining stability at high speeds.
The latter, is wh
... keep reading on reddit ➡
Apparently it was strictly for insurance porpoises.
If indeed ichthyosaurs filled the same niche as cetaceans(aka whales and dolphins) could they evolved to beahve like the cetaceans (like pack hunting or communication between individuals) and if so ,could they achieve the an intelligent similar to cetaceans?
A cetacean is an animal which is recognized in the biological infraorder cetacea. This includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Basically, most marine mammals fall within this group. I came across a couple of cryptids that could be classified as cetaceans, due to their similarity to whales, dolphins and porpoises, and decided to compile a list about some of them.
-
Giglioli's Whale: Spotted by zoologist Enrico Giglioli on September 4th, 1867, off the coast of Chile. The creature was described as a 18 meter (59 foot) baleen whale with two dorsal fins. The creature reportedly has no ventral pleats, which are creases on the underside of some whale's throats which help them swallow more water, and thereby food. This is unusual, as most baleen whales have these. A similar whale was also reportedly seen during 1983 in the Ligurian Sea, but I can find very little information on the encounter.
-
52 Hertz Whale: The 52-hertz whale is a unidentified whale whose calls register at 52 hertz. Just for comparison, most whale calls are within the 10-20 hertz area. It's call was first detected in 1989, and was detected for only a couple years afterwards before stopping. However, it was recently detected again in 2014, and has reportedly been detected every year since then. Scientists are unable to identify the species of whale. This cryptid is still out there, being heard, and undiscovered.
-
High-Finned Sperm Whale: On August or September 27th, 1946, this whale was spotted trapped in the ice near Nova Scotia, Canada, for around two days. It was reportedly a sperm whale with a dorsal fin high enough to it compare to a mast of a ship. The whale's length is widely debated, with estimates ranging from 3-30 meters (9.8-98.4 feet). One had apparently washed up beforehand on the Orkney Islands in 1687, and observed by physician Robert Sibbald, who had also identified it as a type of sperm whale.
-
Alula Whale: A creature which resembles a 6-7 (19.5-23 foot) meter sepia brown killer whale. A pod of them were reportedly seen by W. F. J. Mörzer Bruyns in the gulf of Aden.
-
Rhinoceros Dolphin: A dolphin of an unknown species who is reported to have two dorsal fins. One dorsal fin is close to the head,
Also If anyone has any hypothesis on what would happen if they did, I'd love to hear them!
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 96%. (I'm a bot)
> To precisely identify genes that were inactivated during the transition from land to water in the cetacean stem lineage, we made use of the recently sequenced genome of the common hippopotamus, a semi-aquatic mammal that, along with the pygmy hippopotamus, is the closest living relative to cetaceans, and considered only genes with no detected inactivating mutations in the hippopotamus.
> Loss of genes involved in immune system, muscle function, metabolism, and developmentDespite the fact that cetacean phenotypes have been extensively studied, our genomic screen for genes lost in the cetacean stem lineage detected several gene losses that imply changes in particular phenotypes, which have not been well characterized.
> MATERIALS AND METHODSDetecting genes lost in cetaceans during the transition from land to waterWe first searched for genes that exhibit inactivating mutations in the bottlenose dolphin, killer whale, sperm whale, and common minke whale using data generated by a previously developed gene loss detection approach.
> Excluding genes with inactivating mutations in the hippopotamus lineageTo detect those genes that were inactivated during the transition from land to water in the cetacean stem lineage, we next excluded all genes that have inactivating mutations in the hippopotamus lineage.
> All genes convergently lost between cetaceans and manatees and/or pinnipeds are indicated in table S2.We further screened for genes that are convergently lost between any aquatic or semi-aquatic mammalian lineages and compared the prevalence of these convergent gene losses to convergent losses between their terrestrial sister species.
> Specifically, we extracted genes lost in the killer whale but not in the cow, genes lost in the Pacific walrus but not in the polar bear, and genes lost in the manatee but not in the elephant.
Summary Source | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: gene^#1 cetacean^#2 loss^#3 inactivated^#4 mutation^#5
Post found in [/r/science](http://np.reddit.com/r/science/comments/d9hp1z/the_transition_from_land
... keep reading on reddit ➡
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 62%. (I'm a bot)
> Microplastics are being widely ingested by Britain's marine mammals, scientists say, with samples found in every animal examined in a study.
> "It's shocking - but not surprising - that every animal had ingested microplastics," said Sarah Nelms, of the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory, lead author of the research published in the journal Scientific Reports.
> The study found that nylon made up more than 60% of the microplastics, with possible sources including fishing rope and nets, clothing microfibres and toothbrush bristles.
> As well as accidental consumption, microplastics are ingested indirectly when predators consume contaminated prey such as fish.
> Dr Penelope Lindeque, the head of the marine plastics research group at PML, has found microplastics in animals at every level of the food chain, from tiny zooplankton to fish larvae, turtles, and now marine mammals.
> Lindeque said: "There's a risk that chemicals within the plastic and chemicals that stick to the outside of the microplastics, such as PCBs, could affect these animals. We are increasingly worried that microplastics could also be a vector for viruses and bacteria."
Summary Source | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Microplastics^#1 marine^#2 animal^#3 plastic^#4 found^#5
Post found in /r/worldnews, /r/science, /r/environment, /r/Futurology, /r/AutoNewspaper and [/r/GUARDIANauto](http://np.reddit.com/r/GUARD
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By: Ashley Curtin / NationofChange /
Read the article here: https://www.nationofchange.org/2019/03/19/plastic-pollution-kills-cetaceans-pounds-of-plastic-found-in-whales-stomachs/
Plastic pollution is killing cetaceans, including dolphins and whales. After ingesting massive amounts of plastic, marine mammals are dying of thirst and hunger.
Scientists from the D’ Bone Collector Museum in Davao recently investigated a dead whale in Mabini, Compostela Valley in the Philippines, and found the young male Cuvier’s beaked whale died of “dehydration and starvation” after swallowing plastic bags, EcoWatch reported. Since marine mammals stay hydrated from the foods they eat, the animals are reportedly dehydrated because the plastic stops them from consuming large amounts of food.
“Hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins, seals and turtles are killed by ocean plastic pollution every year, including single-use plastics and abandoned plastic gear from the fishing industry,” Peter Kemple Hardy, World Animal Protection campaigner, said.
The scientists determined the young male Cuvier’s beaked whale had approximately 88 pounds of plastic bags found in its stomach including 16 rice sacks and many single-use shopping plastic bags, according to museum staff.
“I was not prepared for the amount of plastic,” Darrell Blatchley, D’ Bone Collector Museum President and Founder and marine scientist said.
But this wasn’t an isolated incident. A sperm whale in Indonesia was found dead with 13 pounds of plastic in its stomach, while a pilot whale died in Thailand after ingesting 17 pounds of plastic, Eco Watch reported. Overall, Blatchley said he has examined 57 whales and dolphins within the past 10 years that died from plastic consumption.
Plastic pollution is a major issue across the globe, but according to a study conducted by Ocean Conservancy in 2017 plastic pollution is greater in southeast Asia where it enters the oceans from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Action must be taken by the government against those who continue to treat the waterways and ocean as dumpsters,” D’ Bone Collector Museum said in
... keep reading on reddit ➡It was tired of swimming around with no porpoise.
Because it defeats the porpoise.
Maybe speculative evolution for penguins or something?
Apologies for my absence, I have been finishing my final exams in order to graduate this upcoming weekend!
Cetaceans roam our oceans today as both immense predators and gentle giants. From the tiny Vaquita to the enormous Blue Whale (the largest animal currently known to inhabit our planet in all it's history) these marine mammals occupy some of the niches left open by the extinct sea-going reptiles of old. They began this journey some 50-55 million year ago as a terrestrial hoofed mammal no larger than a housecat.
What drove this return to the sea? What evidence do we have to support it? How could it occur so quickly?
This post aims to document the evolutionary transitions of cetaceans from their humble terrestrial beginnings to the majesty of the great organisms roaming our seas today, as well as examine the genetic and embryologic evidence for this journey. Finally, we will examine some of the qualms YEC sites have with the entire idea.
Key Sources:
Comparing Skeletal Structures (Excellent)
On Joint Transitions Specifically (Site is a bit messy)
Vestiges (Concise)
Genes Etc (Great)
Theistic Evolution Site (Informative)
Basic Wiki (For the Lazy)
Let's get started!
Part 1: Feet and Fins
As usual with these posts, we must identify what separates our "starting" species or genus from our "ending" species or genus. It is important to keep in mind that our classifications of organisms is an attempt to categorize a gradient of ever-changing forms; it's somewhat arbitrary. That said, these classifications serve to help us observe evolutionary trends.
Although first we must define some of the aspects of our modern cetacean's classification.
Modern cetaceans are apart of the order Artiodactyla, or, the even-toed ungulates. These are hoofed animals who bear weight on an even number of toes. But they have other defining characteristics, such as their scapula shape and unique joints (trochlear hinges) built for maintaining stability at high speeds.
The latter, is wh
... keep reading on reddit ➡