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Re: Is the skink losing legs or gaining them?
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 4:45 pm
by Katrina
Dakota wrote:But when you look at the Aussie skinks, compared to their ancestor, they have shorter limbs.
What is the common ancestor for all Australian skinks that all current skink species have shorter limbs than? And by all Australian skinks, do you mean Tiliqua spp. only or all Scincidae spp?
Re: Is the skink losing legs or gaining them?
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 11:42 pm
by Richard.C
How do you know there legs have grown since they reached png?
Also are u sure gigas actually traveled to png from australia?
How do you know aussie tiliqua species legs have shortened,fossil records dont show that
Easterns arent a desert species,they come from areas of aus that get quite a bit of rain,hold water ect ect,even worse are blotchies,pretty restricted to areas that hold moisture
I think uou think way to much,lol
The body structure of tiliqua doesnt really lean towards a lack of legs
Re: Is the skink losing legs or gaining them?
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 12:59 am
by El Lobo
Maybe the gigas used the longer legs to wade from Australia to Papua during the low water level period. Easterns couldn't make the journey because of their little short legs.
Re: Is the skink losing legs or gaining them?
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 1:38 am
by Dakota
I think I'm with you Richard.. I may be over-thinking it.
Re: Is the skink losing legs or gaining them?
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 1:38 am
by Dakota
El Lobo wrote:Maybe the gigas used the longer legs to wade from Australia to Papua during the low water level period. Easterns couldn't make the journey because of their little short legs.
Hmmm.. good way to look at it..