Re: The Problem of Pred.
J. Moore (j#d#.moore@canrem.com)
Fri, 29 Sep 95 15:54:00 -0500
Ss> It seems that any model which explains the problem of
Ss> an intermediate primate dealing with aquatic predators
Ss> gets more complex and less believable with due consideration. It just
Ss> doesn't seem very likely that our early primate ancestors could walk
Ss> into an aquatic environment and spend 365 days of the year with
Ss> crocodiles, etc.. Perhaps the problem lies in that assumption. I know
Ss> that the Africa goes through at least two main seasons: rainy and dry.
Ss> What if our primate ancestors were initially dealing with a wet season
Ss> for part of the year, where their environment was essentially an aquatic
Ss> one for at least a few months at a time. This would have given them
Ss> time to evolve at least some characteristics for dealing with a
Ss> potentially hostile and alien habitat. Thus when it came time to move
Ss> entirely into an aquatic lifestyle, they were already prepared for the
Ss> change.
How would they have evolved in such a way that they could handle
the problem of predation by crocodiles? Keep in mind that your
imagination can't just run wild; they have to come out of the
water looking like terrestrial australopithecines.
Ss> This may even be part of the reason WHY they moved into an
Ss> aquatic environment, they had found some benefit to being in the
Ss> presence of water ALL the time. Perhaps their previous habitat was
Ss> becoming too dry, and therefore needed to move to an environment where
Ss> the search for water was less of a challenge.
Why would they move *into* the water when they could as easily just
move *next to* the water?
Jim Moore (j#d#.moore@canrem.com)
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