PA55W0RD
PA55W0RD t1_j1yxjwm wrote
It is amazing to me that every land living or amphibious animal (including those that returned to water or took to air) that descended from the first fish that ventured onto land still have the basic 4 limb/5 fingers configuration.
That could have so easily have been 6 limbs/more fingers had our common ancestor have been different. Or changed somewhere along the way.... yet we share the same number of limbs/fingers with an amphibian with which our last common ancestor was 350 million years ago.
Edit: To clarify, I am only talking about the ancestors of the first tetrapod which evolved from tetrapod-like fish. Insects and other arthropods conquered land before us.
Many tetrapods have also lost digits and limbs on the way, birds, whales, snakes etc. None however have gained extra limbs or fingers as the norm, even though polydactyl gene mutations are quite common.
PA55W0RD t1_j40vqqg wrote
Reply to comment by IlluminatedPickle in Jane (2017) Jane Goodall's groundbreaking research on chimpanzees from lost National Geographic archive footage (CC) [01:21:26] by ghostmrchicken
I have always been a large fan of Goodall myself but I am open to looking at data that isn't favourable. Do you have links to data that supports what you're saying here?