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2 votes
Accepted

Plausible evolutionary changes for fauna on a terraformed planet?

I think there is an important line on evolution and variation here. The starting animals would vary 'rapidly' to fit their ecological niche. That would mean that within 1,000 years you'd find ...
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1 vote

Plausible evolutionary changes for fauna on a terraformed planet?

Genetics studies carried over last thirty years have shown that the genome of most creature more sophisticated than simple unicellular organisms has a high degree of variability. Leaving on the ground ...
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2 votes

Plausible evolutionary path from modern birds to "dragons"

The problem with evolving from birds is that birds usually have hollow bones, making them frail, as such, they are unable to fight similarly-sized prey, making them usually scavengers. If you want to ...
3 votes

Plausible evolutionary path from modern birds to "dragons"

Arid climate Which, funnily enough, could push a vulture closer to a stereotypical European dragon of legend in every way. There's a few main factors at play here: High tempuratures Water scarcity ...
4 votes

What level of phenotypic change is plausible over 10-15,000 years?

If there was strong or especially intentional selection (for instance, on the basis of tall or short) due to, for instance, one island having abundant fruit that's never close to the ground while ...
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0 votes

Why would bioluminescence evolve in a Europa-like world?

However, in the seas of Tateos Prime, there is no sunlight, and therefore vision (at least in the visible-light spectrum) would never have evolved to begin with. You don't need sunlight for sight to ...
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6 votes
Accepted

Why would bioluminescence evolve in a Europa-like world?

"On Earth, bioluminescence arose because it was advantageous to organisms that had vision" - maybe. We don't really know why bioluminiscent bacteria evolved on Earth. According to https://en....
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5 votes

Why would bioluminescence evolve in a Europa-like world?

The problem in other words: why would a light-sensing organ develop if there is no light source, and why would bioluminescence evolve if there were no light-sensing organs, and how could they evolve ...
10 votes

Why would bioluminescence evolve in a Europa-like world?

Because even in the deep ocean, there are natural sources of light, and you don't need a complex eye to make use of them. First, you've got geologic sources. Geothermal vents emit red and near-IR ...
8 votes
Accepted

Can a species with the ZW sex determination system be viviparous?

Some real-world reptiles are viviparous, so it is entirely reasonable that the ZW sex determination system does not preclude viviparity. In fact, the Anguimorpha sub-order already contains viviparous ...
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1 vote

Could Humans Evolve to be Digitigrade?

Yes, but also no. Evolution often mops specie's into a corner were they cannot evolve out of traits they have. This is absolutely not a case of that. so yes, because our anatomy is not limited in a ...
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0 votes

Could Humans Evolve to be Digitigrade?

Yes, it is entirely possible. It is a little known fact that a small number of humans are in fact obligate digitigrades. For most this results in extreme disability since ts the result of infantile ...
0 votes

Would an evolutionary predecessor for winged quadrupeds start with four legs and gain wings? Or start with two legs and wings and gain extra legs?

world one has magic and world two is super old. both of these situations allow for an ancient intelligence designing your creatures then going extinct or forgetting. nanobots allow for "magic&...
2 votes

If humans colonized a world with .75 earth gravity, would they evolve to be thinner and taller?

It Could Possibly Effect Our Developmental Morphology There is a difference between developmental morphology and evolution. There may be morphological differences between a human who develops in ...
9 votes

If humans colonized a world with .75 earth gravity, would they evolve to be thinner and taller?

This is similar to the following closed question: How can lower gravity affect evolution?. There would definitely be less bone density, it's a known problem already. But taller and thinner? Not ...
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