Last night I drank too much wine and ate too much red meat
The result was that I was awake until 4am and had one question going around in my head.

I put this to you now in the hope that someone can come up with a plausible answer.


Humans and monkeys/apes all have hands which they use to feed themselves with.

That's because of a shared genetic ancestor.


So why do rodents eat like that too?
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Sat 2 Aug 2008, 19:47, 8 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Kaol is the animal expert.
Wait till he comes on-line. All will be revealed.
( girlinthehole, Sat 2 Aug 2008, 19:56, Reply)

isnt it all down to
opposable thumbs or something?

sigh staropramen makes my brain fuzzy
(Halfy By light alone, Sat 2 Aug 2008, 21:38, Reply)

Not necessarily
I've known cats and dogs to eat only with their front paws. They'd refuse to put their head in the bowl to eat, so would scoop up bits of food and look very dainty eating instead.

My theory is that it's down to being a mammal and having that choice of face first or hands/paws.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Sat 2 Aug 2008, 22:26, Reply)

You would be
one guy I went on a date with once then Al ,) We're sat in a nice restaurant, me looking nice and eating like a lady should (daintily and slowly instead of how I usually eat), while he's practically head first into his spaghetti meatballs. Only coming up for air to grunt when I asked him questions. What a charmer. Didn't call him again.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Sat 2 Aug 2008, 23:18, Reply)

Right...
I can think of a few things.

1) "Shared Genetic Ancestor"
This is true, humans and monkeys have a common ancestor. Go back a bit further (a bit being millions of years) and there'll be a common ancestor to apes and rodents.
If I remember correctly, there's evidence linking humans all the way back to tree shrews.

2) "It's all down to bone structure"
In biology, there's a term that gets used in situations like this. That term is "analogous structures".
Best example of this is bird and bat wings. Both do the same job, but achieve it in different ways (feathers, bones, skin).
The arguement is that as long as there's a pressure*, a way of coping will emerge, over time, by various means.
You can cut a rope with a knife or with a flame. Different ways of doing the same job.

My point is that rodent and ape "hands" might just be performing a similar function, not being identical.


I could go on, but it's late, and I have to be up in three and a half hours.


*Selection pressure - a "need" to be able to do something.
( Cawl, Mon 4 Aug 2008, 1:02, Reply)

Why wouldn't they?
It's an efficient method of getting food to mouth. It's little wonder that several species use it.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Mon 4 Aug 2008, 10:52, Reply)

Short answer:
Primates and rodents developed this ability independently. Evolution allows for the same ability to evolve multiple times.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Mon 4 Aug 2008, 12:06, Reply)

Well...
ever really look at Tom Petty, for instance? I think he shares more than a few genes with rodents...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 4 Aug 2008, 12:49, Reply)