Re: An alternative to ST and AAT
Phillip Bigelow (bh162@scn.org)
Sat, 26 Oct 1996 21:13:43 -0700
Paul Crowley wrote:
> 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.
Why discuss "purely" arboreal species in the context?
>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.
Obviously at least SOME of these taxa SUCCEEDED at finding
a different niche! How do you think chimpanzees and gorillas
came to be? At some point, one of their arboreal ancestor taxa
moved from a purely arboreal niche to one less so. If it happened
with their ancestors, why not in the hominid clade as well?
>So the LCA was probably a
> quadrupedal terrestrial species much like a chimpanzee or
> gorilla.
You lost me on this one. WHY?
<pb>
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