Re: bipedalism and AAH
HARRY R. ERWIN (herwin@osf1.gmu.edu)
7 May 1995 21:30:18 GMT
And as I noted elsewhere recently, Joel Brown did some good work back in
the '80s figuring out the ecological roles of quadrupedal, bipedal, and
flying species in the Arizona desert. (See JTB about 1985.) Bipedal
species (Kangaroo Rats) are adapted to longer-range search than the
quadrupedal species (and birds take that strategy even further). They
might not have been more efficient (in fact there's a theorem in
mathematical biology that they cannot be more efficient), but they are
dependent on their bipedalism to make their living.
Has anyone looked at elbow and knee joints in semiaquatic and aquatic
mammals?
--
Harry Erwin
Internet: herwin@gmu.edu
PhD student in comp neurosci: "Glitches happen" & "Meaning is emotional"
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