Re: Five-peat

1

This speaks to my own experience. I have become increasingly crabby.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 8:42 AM
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2

What on earth is that clause "in the last century alone" doing there? It is not the case that the crab godmother has shown up on five occasions since 1920 to turn pumpkins and mice into crabs. Maybe they mean that the five distinct evolutionary events were all recognized in the last century?--but given the history of evolutionary biology that doesn't seem very contentful either.


Posted by: lourdes kayak | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 8:54 AM
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3
Studies into the evolutionary processes which led to a crab-like habitus can be traced as far back as the second half of the 19th century.

Maybe it was trying to say "and this has been studied for over a century".


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 9:08 AM
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4

Isn't evolution often coming back to similar plans? I'm not a biologist, but maybe like the basic fish shape. Or the bi-valve, clam, oyster, mussel thing?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 9:18 AM
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5

Lobsters are more or less the same as a crab (has claws, you boil them and eat with butter). That would be six.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 9:27 AM
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6

It looks like the linked paper was published 100 years after the first identification of the process in the scholarly literature, so I think that's where the "last century" idea came from ("alone" seems to be BoingBoing's misleading-to-inaccurate editorial gloss). Also the paper actually seems to be arguing against the idea that there's anything particularly remarkable about this example of convergent evolution.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 11:14 AM
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7

That's what I said.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 11:32 AM
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8

Convergent commenting!


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 11:58 AM
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9

Functionally, I'm a biologist.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 12:00 PM
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10

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Posted by: lurid keyaki | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 12:17 PM
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11

We can only conclude that we're living in paradise, just it's paradise for crabs, and therefore, we must believe God exists and is a crab.


Posted by: Alex | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 12:50 PM
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12

GOD HAS AN INORDINATE FONDNESS FOR BEETLES.


Posted by: OPINIONATED JBS HALDANE | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 1:59 PM
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13

He has the exact right amount of fondness, thank you.


Posted by: Opinionated Beetle | Link to this comment | 10-28-20 1:59 PM
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14

Crabs are evolutionarily desirable

Correct.


Posted by: Sir Kraab | Link to this comment | 10-29-20 4:38 AM
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