rhydra
19-11-2009, 07:40 PM
http://news.discovery.com/animals/dwarf-goat-reptiles-mammals.html
What had bones like a crocodile and grew like a crocodile, but was a goat? The answer, according to a new study, was the now-extinct Myotragus, also known as "mouse goat."
The tiny goat, which stood about 19 inches tall at the shoulder, took on characteristics of cold-blooded reptiles, a first for a mammal, in order to survive life on the island of Majorca, where food sources were few and far between.
In doing so, the Plio-Pleistocene goat left behind at least five attributes associated with many warm-blooded mammals: relatively fast movement, high growth rates, keen senses, high metabolism and fairly big brains.
Not only did it become a reptile but a reptile that would eat your washing!
The genes for reversion are within the mammal DNA, whenever the need arises, genes that are overwritten become active again.
What had bones like a crocodile and grew like a crocodile, but was a goat? The answer, according to a new study, was the now-extinct Myotragus, also known as "mouse goat."
The tiny goat, which stood about 19 inches tall at the shoulder, took on characteristics of cold-blooded reptiles, a first for a mammal, in order to survive life on the island of Majorca, where food sources were few and far between.
In doing so, the Plio-Pleistocene goat left behind at least five attributes associated with many warm-blooded mammals: relatively fast movement, high growth rates, keen senses, high metabolism and fairly big brains.
Not only did it become a reptile but a reptile that would eat your washing!
The genes for reversion are within the mammal DNA, whenever the need arises, genes that are overwritten become active again.