Re: An alternative to ST and AAT
Paul Crowley (Paul@crowleyp.demon.co.uk)
Sat, 26 Oct 96 23:20:50 GMT
In article <32716A88.7D14@scn.org> bh162@scn.org "Phillip Bigelow" writes:
> Paul Crowley wrote:
> > pnich@digiworldinc.com "Phil Nicholls" writes:
> > > The fact is that hominid bipedalism is an adaptation for
> > > terrestrial existence,
>
> > This is not a fact; it is pure supposition -- and a bad one.
>
> No more speculative than the fact that the kangaroo rat is a
> faculatively saltative biped (adaptation on land). That all birds
I was mainly objecting to the meaning that bipedalism was
an adaptation of an arboreal species to a terrestrial niche.
Purely arboreal species that exist today are remarkably
restricted in location, niche and habitat. They are so
specialised that they would find it hard to adapt to any
other form of life even if they could find a niche that
was not already occupied. So the LCA was probably a
quadrupedal terrestrial species much like a chimpanzee or
gorilla.
Secondly, the first bipedal hominids would have been less
effective at terrestrial progression than their quadrupedal
cousins. So there must have been another reason for it.
Paul.
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