Why Do Birds Have Such Skinny Legs? (www.scientificamerican.com)

submitted 9 months ago by Ninjazzon@infosec.pub to c/biodiversity@mander.xyz

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The first reason bird legs look strangely thin is that the rest of their body is mostly covered by feathers, which can dramatically magnify its apparent size, says Julia Clarke, a paleontologist who studies bird evolution at the University of Texas at Austin. Birds’ relatively meatier thighs are tucked underneath their feathers, and most birds have scaly lower legs, Clarke says, which makes these limbs look oddly small and naked. Birds that have feathers down to their toes—such as owls and some domestic chickens—appear to have thicker shins than their bare-legged cousins.

But it’s not just a visual illusion: bird legs have some genuine differences from legs of other living animals.

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[-] Hello_Kitty_enjoyer@hexbear.net 4 points 9 months ago

why do mammals have such thicc, caked up, indecently voluptuous legs?

this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024

33 points (97.1% liked)

Biodiversity

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Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It can be used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region or ecosystem. Biodiversity refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and humans. Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects. This means that millions of other organisms remain a complete mystery.

Over generations, all of the species that are currently alive today have evolved unique traits that make them distinct from other species. These differences are what scientists use to tell one species from another. Organisms that have evolved to be so different from one another that they can no longer reproduce with each other are considered different species. All organisms that can reproduce with each other fall into one species. Read more...

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