Apparently I missed this until now, but Cetaceans (whales, dolphins) are closer related to Even Toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla: deer, cattle, pigs, hippos) than to all other mammals. So closely related that new superorder was created, called Cetartiodactyla.
I had heard that whales were very related to Hippos at some point, but hadn't really seen the relationship til today in Vertebrate Zoology class. The morphological evidence (anatomical evidence) as well as the genetic and molecular evidence both strongly confirm this grouping. It's quite well backed up.
Just interesting to me, to imagine the progressions these animals followed coming to their current state.
[illustration via Afrol News]
Enjoy your long-term musings,
Bp
5 comments:
??? i thought everything was created in 7 days???? how could this happen.
you are destroying the very foundation this society was founded on.. dare I say HERESY!!!
Next you will tell us that the animals in the nativity are symbolic of other beliefs at the time
They may be related, but only by marraige.
Yours in vertabrate husbandry,
Oh, and by the way, Tate. Creationism has been replaced by science. Remember intelligent design?
Another invention of the current administration: 'junk science', meaning science that does not support their foregone conclusions. Usually used to refer to evolution, it was also applied to anything suggesting that global warming was real (until the recent admission by this administration that, in fact, it *is* real. Not much noise made about that turnaround, which is probably appropriate as not much action has followed.\)
NPR told me today that the Linnaean taxonomy is dead. Is that true? They also told me that we're more closely related to yeast than yeast is to E. coli.
I mean this in no joking way unfortunately, but yes Linnaean taxodermy is dead but only in schools that can afford new textbooks. I'm quite positive it's being taught all over the country in elementary, middle, and even high schools that can't afford the newer texts where it has been corrected.
Linnaeus didn't have the genetic/molecular data we have now, and that data adds a huge dimension to taxonomy.
And yes, definitely on the Yeast and E. Coli. Weird but true.
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