1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,440 Speaker 1: Quick of technical notes. So I'm on the road, so 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: my audio quality is not as good as it typically 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: is when I'm in the studio. That should be back 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,240 Speaker 1: to normal once I return in just about a week. 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,319 Speaker 1: Please hang with me when I have sort of a 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,959 Speaker 1: little bit more of a janky audio situation, but I 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: will do my best to make it sound soothing and 8 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: beautiful on your ears. Welcome to Creature Future production of iHeartRadio. 9 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: I'm your host so many parasites, Katie Golden. I studied 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: psychology and evolutionary biology, and today on the show, it's 11 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: another listener Questions episode. I answer your questions to the 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,480 Speaker 1: best of my ability. You can write to me at 13 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: creaturefeuturepod at gmail dot com with any questions you have 14 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: about animals evolutionary biology. Can send me pictures of your pets, 15 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: and I love to answer these questions. They often send 16 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: me on very interesting sort of study sessions trying to 17 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: find out about your questions. And let's just get right 18 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: into it. First listener question, Folks say things like crocodiles 19 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 1: have been around for x million years, relatively unchanged, and 20 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: obviously evolution is an ongoing process. But speaking to classifying animals, 21 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: what's the oldest and what's the newest animal? When and 22 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: how do new classifications of species happens. This is from 23 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: Blake our Hi Blake. This is a really interesting question, 24 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: very good question. It is a bit of a touchy 25 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: topic in evolutionary biology because the broad answer is that 26 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: definition of species and distinctions between species can be a 27 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: bit of a gray area. So there are different schools 28 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: of thought when it comes to defining species. One is 29 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: the biological species cheese concept. It defines a species as 30 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: a group that can produce viable fertile offspring. So while 31 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: a horse can technically have offspring with a zebra making 32 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: a zores, the resulting hybrid is infertile, so the horse 33 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: and the cibra are considered separate species. But this concept 34 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: has some issues. It's not something that can easily be 35 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: applied to fossil species, so we may not know whether 36 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: they can produce viable fertile offspring or not. It also 37 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: doesn't take into account speciation by geographical barrier. So perhaps 38 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: two species that got separated are and are on different 39 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: continents could reproduce viable fertile hybrid offspring. But does it 40 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: really mean that these species that have been living apart 41 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: for millions of years are the same species. There are 42 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 1: also species of animals that reproduce asexually, and so the 43 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: biological species concept doesn't really apply to them typically. I mean, 44 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: usually when you have asexuality and species, they do go 45 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: through phases of sexual reproduction, but still it adds a 46 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: layer of complexity. There are also species that are quite 47 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: clearly anatomically distinct, such as polar bears and grizzly bears, 48 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: who can freely hybridize and produce viable, fertile hybrids. So 49 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: pizleies and grollar bears are actually fertile and they can 50 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: have offspring. Neanderthals and humans are considered different species. I 51 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,839 Speaker 1: mean we have different evolutionary lineages or more cousins than 52 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: We didn't evolve from Neanderthals. We are cousins to Neanderthals, 53 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: but we still have a lot of Neanderthal DNA floating 54 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: around in our current human populations because of how we 55 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: interbred successfully with the Neanderthals. In fact, one of the theories 56 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: of Neanderthals disappearing is that, sure, we probably killed a 57 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: lot of them off or out competed them, but a 58 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: lot just simply kind of like integrated into human society, 59 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: like we have Neanderthal DNA. There was a lot of 60 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: interbreeding and so yeah, it just kind of Neanderthals became 61 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: subsumed by humans. So basically defining what a new species 62 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: is can get kind of messy, and there are some 63 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: rough ways to do it, such as seeing if they 64 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: can interbreed, looking at geographical location, looking at phenotypical differences 65 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: so that's like what they look like, what is on 66 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: the outside, and even examining genetic lineages and differences. So generally, 67 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: if you have a species evolving into another species, it 68 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 1: will either be anatomically, locationally or genetically distinct enough that 69 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:57,479 Speaker 1: scientists think it deserves its own category. In terms of 70 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: Blake's question about oldest in newest species, things like sponges 71 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: and comb jellies are probably the oldest animal species. These 72 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: are oceanic species like sea sponges comb jellies that are 73 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: these very simple looking interesting like almost transparent orbs or 74 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: like tiny blimps. These probably came about over seven hundred 75 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: million years ago. For comparison, crocodiles are only two hundred 76 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: million years old, and the first flowering plant popped up 77 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: only around one hundred and thirty million years ago. In 78 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: terms of the newest animal. That's a little bit trickier 79 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: given that evolution is a fluid process. It's happening all 80 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:50,279 Speaker 1: around us, and we simply don't have researchers looking at 81 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: every single animal species on the planet being able to 82 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: detect exactly when speciation happens. But an example of one 83 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,479 Speaker 1: of the newer species on Earth is a finch on 84 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: the Galapagos Islands. Those same finches that Darwin noted had 85 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: differently shaped beaks for the different types of seeds and 86 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: food found on the different islands are still going through evolution. 87 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: So in the nineteen nineties and early two thousands, researchers 88 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: noted that a cactus finch had migrated over to a 89 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: Galapagos island that it's not native to, the Daphne Major Island. 90 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: Then researchers noticed a hybrid species come from this invader 91 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: cactus finch and a native medium ground finch. The new 92 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: hybrid species is actually fertile and has to breed only 93 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: with other hybrids because they have such a different beak 94 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: shape and different song to track females, it can really 95 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: only breed with other hybrids, so of course there's a 96 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: lot of inbreeding, but they managed to continue to function 97 00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: and grow to be a population of around twenty three 98 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: into vials and eight bonded pairs. So I think researchers 99 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: considered this a new species. So this just happened basically 100 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: in the early two thousands, so that's pretty recent. I mean, 101 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: this is by no means does this mean this is 102 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: the absolute newest species. We just this is a relatively 103 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: recent one that where we sort of notice the speciation. 104 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: But yeah, this is probably happening too many species over 105 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 1: the around the Earth, but we just simply don't know. 106 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: And you can like track sort of the genetic changes 107 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: and be able to see like when these kinds of 108 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: speciations have occurred. But yeah, it can be quite recently, 109 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: just within the last couple of decades. So we're going 110 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: to take a quick break and then answer more listener questions. 111 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: Here is another listener question. I thought maybe one idea 112 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: for an episode could be unusual ways animals evolved to 113 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: be aware of enemy or prey in their environment or 114 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: have you done something like this already? I mean heads 115 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: that spin around, weird eye placements for three hundred and 116 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: sixty degree views supernatural senses only sleeping with half of 117 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: your brain at a time, you probably know better ones. 118 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: So this is from pekin In who sent me a 119 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: really cute video of a kingfisher who has really amazing 120 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: rotation of the head so it can turn its head 121 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: much like an owl and look all scan all around 122 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: rather than moving its eyes. I may indeed use this 123 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: idea for a full episode, but in the meantime this 124 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: suggestion actually made me think of weird eyes. And one 125 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: of the weirdest eyes I can think of is this 126 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: third eye that a lot of animals have called the 127 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: parietal eye. So this is present in amphibians, lizards, salamanders, 128 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: to ataras, which is a lizard like reptile. It's also 129 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,320 Speaker 1: found in lampreeze, which are these sort of eel like fish. 130 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: They're found in some species of fish and in sharks. 131 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: So the third eye is not like a wide open, 132 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: regular eyeball, but you can often see a small bump 133 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: or ridge on top of the animal's head, or in 134 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 1: species that have interesting coloration, sometimes you see like a 135 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:18,319 Speaker 1: band of coloration around the eye. So it usually presents 136 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: as this tiny gray oval and As the animal matures, 137 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,719 Speaker 1: it usually gets covered in a layer of skin. So 138 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: the eye is not like the other two eyes. It 139 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: does not have the rod and cone photoreceptors that we 140 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: have in say, like our eyeballs, but it is more 141 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: like a photosensitive mass that is connected to the pineal gland. 142 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: So the pineal gland has roles in hormone production and 143 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: regulating circadian rhythm and thermal regulation. So it's thought that 144 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: this parietal eye also helps in these processes. So one 145 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: theory is that it acts as a docimitter, which is 146 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 1: a device that measures ionizing radiation. So the idea is 147 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:10,839 Speaker 1: that this is basically a biological docimter. So the parietal 148 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: eye could potentially help regulate hormone production and thermal regulation 149 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:21,959 Speaker 1: based on the intensity of the sun's radiation. So which 150 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: you know, seems to make sense, like you need to 151 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: know like how to regulate your body's temperature if it's 152 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:33,760 Speaker 1: hotter outside, or how to regulate say, melatonin production based 153 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: on the sun's position in the sky in terms of 154 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: regulating sleep wake cycles. So when researchers remove the third eye, 155 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 1: this parietal eye, from lizards, it seems to mess up 156 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 1: their basking behavior and activity schedule, which shows it basically 157 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,720 Speaker 1: functions like a sun's sensitive watch for lizards, helping them 158 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: know when they should be most active, when they should rest, 159 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: and when they should either bask in the sun or 160 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: or find refuge in the shade. It also seems to 161 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: help lizards with navigation, using the sun as a marker 162 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 1: and knowing how to navigate by memory. So in an experiment, 163 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: lizards were trained that there's an invisible ledge in this 164 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: pool of water, and they were basically they learned how 165 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: to use the sun to navigate to this ledge, but 166 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 1: when their parietal eyes were either covered or just surgically removed, 167 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: they would swim in these random directions and fail to 168 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,840 Speaker 1: be able to find this ledge. It seems like it's 169 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: also functioning as an internal compass by using the radiation 170 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: as a sun as sort of a marker, and then 171 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: being able to track like the lizard's relative position to 172 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 1: the sun to determine location, which is really cool. I 173 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: wish I had a third eye. I'm really bad at navigation. 174 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: I very easily get turned around, so I could use 175 00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: all the help I can get and it would look 176 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 1: really cool. We're going to take a quick break and 177 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 1: answer another listener question when we get back. Next listener question, 178 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,439 Speaker 1: I have a question for your Listener Questions podcast. Why 179 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 1: are gorillas so big and strong? Animals usually only invest 180 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: that much energy into muscle if there's some evolutionary advantage, 181 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: But what do gorillas get out of being so strong, 182 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: especially compared to other primates? Thanks Gary, Hi, Gary, So 183 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:34,439 Speaker 1: this is a really interesting question because gorillas are herbivores. 184 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: I mean, sometimes they will eat termites and ants, but 185 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: either way, these food sources don't necessarily require a lot 186 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: of strength to eat. In fact, there are many herbivores 187 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,560 Speaker 1: that are quite strong, like hippos. So it's very interesting 188 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: when you see, like, you know, actually carnivores certainly do 189 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: not have the monopoly on being strong, and some of 190 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: the strongest animals are herbivore and they get all of 191 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: their sort of muscle mass from vegetation, which is really interesting. 192 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: So gorillas, unlike certain species like hippos, are actually not 193 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: that aggressive. They don't typically use their body mass to 194 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: just like you know, mow down other species. They're one 195 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: of the more gentle primate species, especially with conspecifics. So 196 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: conspecifics means a member of your own species, and gorillas 197 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 1: tend to try to avoid conflict with each other, but 198 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,960 Speaker 1: the males will get territorial. They have a harem system 199 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: where there is a dominant silverback gorilla who controls a 200 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: troop of gorillas. Usually it ranges too up to like 201 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:51,200 Speaker 1: thirty individuals, including females and juveniles and babies, and the 202 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 1: dominant male has the exclusive mating rites with the females 203 00:13:55,480 --> 00:14:00,720 Speaker 1: unless being sneaky, and so he will attack any other 204 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,679 Speaker 1: males who tries to basically take over his territory, which 205 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: comes with those mating rights to those females, And often 206 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: there will be these aggressive displays, you know, chest thudding 207 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: that that kind of like trope is. It's true. They 208 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 1: will try to seem like like, look I am big, 209 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: I am scary and strong. You don't want to take 210 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: me on as a challenger, so that they you know, 211 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: they would prefer to settle things relatively peacefully so they 212 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: don't have to risk being injured. But they will fight, 213 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: and sometimes they will fight to the death, especially when 214 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: you have two troops of gorilla coming together. You have 215 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: two dominant silver backs and they are trying to fight 216 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: over territory. They can sometimes kill each other. They are 217 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: also highly defensive of their families, both females and males, 218 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: and they will definitely turn you into a body part 219 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 1: salad if you come off as a threat to them 220 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: or their family. But when you compare them to something 221 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:05,360 Speaker 1: like chimpanzees, they are a little bit less aggressive. Chimpanzees 222 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: are a bit more I guess, ornery of a species. 223 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: So why they're so strong, I mean, one thing you 224 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: look at is the difference between males and females. So 225 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: for the Western Lowland gorilla, which is found in the 226 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: Congo basin, males weigh around three hundred to five hundred pounds, 227 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: which is around one thirty to two hundred thirty kilograms, 228 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: whereas females range from about one hundred and fifty to 229 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 1: two hundred pounds, which is about one hundred and fourteen kilograms. 230 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 1: So females are quite a bit smaller than the males, 231 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: and this is a hint for what the strength is 232 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: typically used for. The relatively greater strength of the males 233 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: is likely a great benefit to them so that they 234 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 1: can defend territory and access to females. So evolutionary pressures 235 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: would greatly reward these stronger, bigger males, and with enough 236 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: access to vegetation to feed their bulk, they are able 237 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: to get very large. Now, unlike humans who have to 238 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: like work out, go to the gym, do reps get 239 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: swollen to maintain muscle mass, Girls' metabolism will automatically convert 240 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 1: vegetation and cellulose into muscle mass. And they spend a 241 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: lot of time on the ground rather than in the trees, 242 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: so they're walking on their arms and a lot of 243 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: like upper body strength used to move around, and they 244 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: kind of have traded off the nimbleness of say like 245 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: a chimpanzee who can spend more time in the trees 246 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: for just being more of a tank. So the large 247 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 1: silver backed dominant males can lead these troops around, you know, 248 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: thirty individuals, like I said, and you know, even when 249 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: he is threatened, he tries to kind of just put 250 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: on this display. So they really are more docile then 251 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: a lot of species. That doesn't mean you should try 252 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,280 Speaker 1: to approach one and like give him a fist bump 253 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:11,360 Speaker 1: or something, because he will ruin your entire body if 254 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: he thinks you are a threat, like and you know 255 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,399 Speaker 1: you're a strange a stranger basically coming up to his family. 256 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:24,040 Speaker 1: He's not gonna assume you're there for good purposes. Another 257 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 1: thing that they can use their strength for is to 258 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:30,880 Speaker 1: rip in tear branches to get up vegetation. And young 259 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: gorillas will easily scale trees, but the adults really don't 260 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,160 Speaker 1: spend too much time in the trees. They can climb trees, though, 261 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: and they will if they want to get a snack 262 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: up there. So in terms of the question why why 263 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,680 Speaker 1: gorillas are so big compared to chimpanzees, I mean, one 264 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: thing is that you kind of have this this thing 265 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 1: that happens in evolution where it doesn't you don't always 266 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,920 Speaker 1: have to arrive to the same evolutionary design in order 267 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: to be a successful species. So it's whatever evolutionary path 268 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,639 Speaker 1: that takes you towards something. So you have probably the 269 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: selection for larger males because that makes it easier for 270 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: them to compete for females in their environment. And then 271 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: you have this kind of run a voye selection where 272 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: like they get bigger and bigger, and as the males 273 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: get bigger, the females also have to get bigger. I mean, 274 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,479 Speaker 1: you can't really have like a Chihuahua sized female and 275 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: a you know, like girlicized male, So the females also 276 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: will get larger in size even if there is this 277 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: sexual dimorphism. Availability of vegetation is important, so if they 278 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,159 Speaker 1: live in a habitat where they really do have a 279 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: lot of access to the food they need to nourish 280 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: their bodies, that will allow for a larger size. Oh, 281 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 1: an extinct primate called Gigantopithecus is it's like it looks 282 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: like this, like huge a tan. It went extinct because 283 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: of climate change, and they were so specialized in eating 284 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:12,440 Speaker 1: very specific vegetation. Once that was reduced by the change 285 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: in climate, they were not able to generalize their eating 286 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: behavior enough and they would they just died out due 287 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 1: to lack of nutrition to maintain such a huge body. 288 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,159 Speaker 1: So being big is great, but it comes with this 289 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,159 Speaker 1: trade off, right, Like it means that if there are 290 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: fewer resources, you are in a lot of trouble. So 291 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:35,959 Speaker 1: that's that's why, like not all species just like go 292 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: towards being as big as possible. There are other ways. 293 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: There are other ways to be successful as an animal. 294 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 1: So while you might think that gorillas face no threats 295 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: other than humans, given how giant they are, they're young, 296 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: are actually quite vulnerable. So there was this case when 297 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: seven gorillas were attacked by twenty seven chimpanzees for over 298 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,800 Speaker 1: an hour, during which time the chimpanzees were able to 299 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 1: separate one of the babies from its mother, They kidnapped it, 300 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,880 Speaker 1: they killed it, and ate it. Nature is really brutal 301 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,199 Speaker 1: sometimes so, but you can see that even with all 302 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,639 Speaker 1: their strength, gorillas can be victims of attacks by huge 303 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: mobs of chimpanzee. So the fact that they're really physically 304 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,680 Speaker 1: strong doesn't necessarily always give them an advantage to protect 305 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:28,960 Speaker 1: their young against chimpanzees who are able to just kind 306 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 1: of a mass an army and be quick and nimble 307 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: and then like steal away some of their young. So 308 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 1: that large size does come with some downsides, which is agility, 309 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: being able to quickly you know, hide, and so you know, 310 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: I think that you and also what I mentioned earlier 311 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,119 Speaker 1: in terms of like getting enough vegetation, it might increase 312 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: competition because each individual needs more food. So it's a 313 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: trade off and it's not going to be the path 314 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: at Some species take getting that big, but yeah, some 315 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 1: species like it. It has worked out for the grills 316 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 1: pretty much until you know, humans came into the picture 317 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,920 Speaker 1: and we've really been messing with them in terms of 318 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,120 Speaker 1: their habitat, and that's the main threat to them. Chimpanzees 319 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 1: are not like the biggest threat. It's it's humans as usual. 320 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 1: We are the most dangerous primate. So onto the Mystery 321 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: animal sound game. Every week I play a mystery animal 322 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 1: sound and you try to guess who is making that sound. 323 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: So last week I actually did a rerun episode. I've 324 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 1: been actually visiting the US, so I live abroad, but 325 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: I came back to the US to visit family, visit friends, 326 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,160 Speaker 1: go to a few weddings. So last week I played 327 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: a rerun. I might do the same next week. We'll see. 328 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:54,919 Speaker 1: I'll try to fit in another recording, but if I can't, 329 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: I will pick out one of my favorite episodes for 330 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:02,199 Speaker 1: you to listen to. First, let us go over what 331 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 1: was in the rerun episode, because there was a mystery 332 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: animal sound and the hint given was this Its name 333 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: sounds like a collaboration between a biologist, a heavy metal band, 334 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:25,920 Speaker 1: and a hairdresser. So congratulations to Amanda and Boyd and 335 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:31,480 Speaker 1: middle school grade seven for guessing correctly. The screaming Harry armadillo. 336 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 1: So the screaming Harry armadillo is exactly as it sounds. 337 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: It's a very hairy armadillo and it screams when it 338 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,680 Speaker 1: is handled. So they are found in Central and South 339 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,679 Speaker 1: American desert environments and they do not like to be 340 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,240 Speaker 1: picked up. And when a human picks them up, usually 341 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 1: in a zoo or wildlife rescue organization, they will make 342 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: this horrible man drake shriek. So onto the next mystery 343 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:03,879 Speaker 1: animal sound from the episode missing parts from two weeks ago. 344 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,119 Speaker 1: The hint this hairy animal doesn't want his picnic on 345 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: a rainy day. So congratulations to Auntie Bee, Emily M 346 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: and David D and David D's son Xavier, who all 347 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: geessed correctly. The sun bear. So. Sun bears are the 348 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,240 Speaker 1: smallest bear species, weighing only around fifty to one hundred 349 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: and forty pounds around twenty five to sixty five kilogrounds. 350 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,400 Speaker 1: They are found in rainforests in Southeast Asia. They have 351 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,320 Speaker 1: a patch of yellowish fur on their chests and are 352 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: otherwise black with these tan muscles. They are very cute. 353 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 1: They're pigeon toed with feet facing inwards and have large 354 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 1: hooklike claws, allowing them to easily climb trees to get 355 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 1: both protection and food sources such as honey bee's fruit. 356 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 1: They'll rip open hollow trees just to get at the 357 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:05,400 Speaker 1: bees and honey inside. They eat also vegetation, termites, even 358 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 1: small vertebrates when the chance arises, basically anything tasty that 359 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,119 Speaker 1: they can get their cute little Freddy Krueger claws on. 360 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 1: In addition to threats from humans, young sunbears must contend 361 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: with predation by pythons and leopards. Otherwise, they live in 362 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: pretty hospitable environments, and they have enough nutrition to be 363 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: active year round, and they do not hybridate onto This 364 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,159 Speaker 1: week's mister animal sound, the hint squeakers here doesn't like 365 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: being handled. In fact, his own hands have turned into 366 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:53,359 Speaker 1: something very different through evolution. So do not adjust your podcast. 367 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 1: That is an animal noise and not just the audio 368 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: going crazy. Uh if you think you know who is squawking, 369 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,680 Speaker 1: each right to me at Creature Futurepod at gmail dot com. 370 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,040 Speaker 1: All right to me with your questions. I do these 371 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:11,880 Speaker 1: listener questions episode relatively regularly, so I try to get 372 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,360 Speaker 1: to every question in my inbox. And if I don't 373 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: answer it on the show. I do try to respond 374 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:20,840 Speaker 1: to those emails, even if I am slow like a sloth. 375 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 1: I will get there eventually. So thank you guys so 376 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 1: much for writing into me. And thank you to the 377 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,399 Speaker 1: Space Classics for their super awesome song XO. Lumina Creature 378 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: features a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts like the 379 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: one you just heard, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 380 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,960 Speaker 1: or Hi Guess what. Maybe I listen to your favorite shows. Look, 381 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: I will not rat you out to the podcast police. 382 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: Don't worry. See you next Wednesday.