Timeline for Are hoofed bipeds feasible?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| Jul 16, 2023 at 2:59 | review | Suggested edits | |||
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| Apr 7, 2021 at 19:28 | comment | added | John | early hominids absolutely relied on speed ot evade predators, speed at climbing. All they need is an alternative defensive strategy, like climbing, which would favor all the necessary adaptations, It is how hominids did it even though the early ones were slower on two legs. and there are some extremely good ungulate climbers. Unlikely is not the same thing as impossible, If an extinction opened up niches who knows what ungulates might radiate into. | |
| Jun 16, 2020 at 11:03 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Aug 30, 2016 at 10:40 | comment | added | Youstay Igo | @JonTakagi: Yes it can. Several street performers still train goats to stand up on hind legs and walk a short distance. And this is for animals which are primarily quadrupeds. If a goat had hip, backbone and foot structure suitable for bipedalism, it would most certainly walk easily on two feet. OP had asked if it is feasible that bipedal ungulates would evolve in natural process of evolution, and that's what my answer is primarily aimed at answering. | |
| Aug 30, 2016 at 7:06 | comment | added | Jon Takagi | Your answer is a good explanation of why deer wouldn't evolve to be bipeds, but doesn't really answer the question - could a biped with hooves walk? | |
| Jul 21, 2016 at 22:33 | comment | added | dsollen | While I understand your point I don't like this answer, it's too absolute, and more to the point I don't think the arguments are the best. Imagine a creature evolving as the only decent sized creature on an isolated island where they don't need defense, or Ungulates that evolved intellect first like humans, or the aquatic ape situation where they evolved bipedal motion for wadding in water where speed was not important. The issue of balance and weight distribution seem to make this less likely, but too many alternate strategies for combating predation other then speed exist. | |
| Jul 9, 2016 at 8:13 | comment | added | Youstay Igo | @άλεξμιζέρια: Atavism (natural) is limited to individuals, and a whole population does not revert to the primitive form. Furthermore, it is an outrageous claim to say that modern creatures (including humans) can have the genes of pretty much every creature in the past. First, the primitive phenotypical genes are slowly put to sleep while the newer genes take over. With the passage of generations, the older, inactive genes undergo damage and are sometimes wiped out altogether. Also, notice that we, humans do not have dinosaurian genes in us because our evolutionary histories never overlaps. | |
| Jul 8, 2016 at 19:34 | comment | added | user22398 | What about Atavism ? atavism is not evolution , it's an error but it can evolve into something capable to survive... And since every living creature comes from one common ancestor then we have genes of pretty much every creature existed in the past. | |
| Jun 22, 2016 at 15:00 | comment | added | ckersch | The end result would be something morphologically more similar to a ground sloth than a human. | |
| Jun 22, 2016 at 14:58 | comment | added | ckersch | Here's a thought: what if our hypothetical biped first evolved size and bulk? A deer like animal closer in size to a giraffe which still used occasional bipedalism as a feeding strategy would see feeding advantages in being able to remain bipedal for longer, since its bulk would mean the act of standing would be more energetically expensive. Meanwhile, evolution for front legs better suited to box predators might be feasible for a big herbivore which is better suited to stand and fight than to run. Gradual selection of 'boxers' over 'runners' could lead to obligate bipedalism. | |
| Jun 22, 2016 at 14:51 | comment | added | Youstay Igo | Maybe. The point about speed was about surviving against predators, not hunting for food. @TrEs-2b | |
| Jun 22, 2016 at 8:08 | comment | added | TrEs-2b | Actually humans relied on their superior endurance to hunt down animals | |
| Jun 22, 2016 at 7:53 | history | answered | Youstay Igo | CC BY-SA 3.0 |