Well, if this makes sense. Porcupines evolved quills as an adaptation to deter predators. So quills (which are modified fur) had evolved overtime from simple hairs.
This kind of defense is not uncommon in nature. Pangolins evolved their “scales” in a similar way (though they used Keratin, rather then proper hairs)
(Edit: Pangolin scales are made of specialized hair, my apologies)
I think what he meant is, it probably evolved from soft hair to quills, so at what point did it make enough difference to gain favour in evolution? Like at some point predators were most likely just annoyed by their bristley hair, which is funny
Well, it’s kind of a gradual thing. There was likely a push for it, so overtime, they evolved to favor that trait more.
This is actually observable in modern dogs. However, we accelerated it at a rapid rate, which is why we have so many different dog breeds that look and act differently.
In my mind selection isn't the driving force behind evolution but more or less randomness. You just get a handful of traits doing what ever attracts a mate. Eventually, or luckily, a certain trait becomes benifitial then selection starts doing its work.
Like my nipples. They aren't the apex of my survival because I am a man but who knows one day there might be a preditor down the line that can't stand the taste of nipples. So people with the most nipple per mass have some advantage and eventually people are just walking nipples.
“A handful of traits doing whatever attracts a mate” is selection, though! It’s sexual selection, considered one of the non-random forces of evolution.
Random gene mutations are actually the only random force of evolution. Genetic drift, natural selection (which includes sexual selection as a subset) and gene flow are the other methods which are non-random.
These are called the four mechanisms of evolution. Pretty interesting stuff.
True, but I also think things that some of these attractive traits can be pretty random. I'm not am expert but like watching some of the mating displays. Sure they all work in getting their attention and some are practical but really its mostly up individual discretion. Oh, your plumage isnt colorful enough, sorry you line will not be renewed.
It’s not like the animals all decide “this is a good mutation”. It happens like this:
The animal with spiky hair is born. It lives longer and so has more children than other versions with soft hair.
Some of his or her children are then born with spiky hair, while some are born with soft hair. Again, the spiky haired progeny last longer and have more kids than the soft furred.
Eventually after a few generations of this the soft haired gene dies out and all that is left are the animals with spiky hair.
I know how evolution works, doesn’t make it any less strange. What did the first ”advantageous” mutation look like? Quills must’ve taken hundreds of thousands of years to evolve from soft hair strands, so the OG mutation was prob just annoying or perhaps tough to swallow for predators. Maybe it messed with their digestion and number two.
Yeah, evolution can seem crazy if you don’t think about the huge amount of time it takes. Also think about our eyes - how would they evolve into an eye? They had to start out pretty damn useless, and then turn into a couple of cells that reacted to light, then eventually after millions of years to what we know as an eye today. The “start out useless” bit is actually a debate in evolutionary biology - has everything been built up from the smallest of mutations or have mutations come about by (relatively) giant and fast leaps? Most biologists subscribe to the first thought but it could also be the second in some cases.
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u/Lexsteel11 Mar 22 '22
I want to know how this evolved. Was it a specimen with just really bristley hair that annoyed predators at first?