Piltdown Man

   The Piltdown Man was a series of discoveries and claims of an ancestor between modern man and ape. The discovery made at the time was monumental as Britain had yet to find any hominid remains. After many discoveries in France and Germany, Britain was beginning to feel the pressure. Then in 1908 at a gravel pit in East Sussex, England Charles Dawson had found a fragment of what was a first he claimed was a fossilized coconut. Then after several other finds in the same area he believed them to be the remains of a fossilized ancestor of apes and man. After some time roughly in 1912 he had brought the remains to Arthur Smith Woodward, who was working for the geological department at the British Museum. It was then the two set out to find other remains of the Piltdown man accompanied by many others, which included laborers and even a goose named Chipper. (Which if you read into some of the more comical theories of the forgery they name Chipper the mastermind.)

Despite the attempts of Woodward and the other excavators it was only Dawson who had found fossils. Even with this knowledge many in the scientific community questioned the legitimacy of the skull, The skull presented had only bits and pieces intact, and those left behind were not enough to distinguish if the jawbone even matched the upper portion of the skull.

 Arthur Keith was at first convinced by the discovery of such a skull but after the revealing of the canine teeth in a later dig they were inconsistent with the supposed diet of the species. Keith had noted that the sharpened canines would not allow for the side chewing movments found in humans and apes. In as early as 1913 a zoologist and a french paleontologist were claiming the skull in fact belongs to a man and the bottom jaw to an ape with the teeth filed down. The final exposure as a fake came in 1953, when technology had advanced to the point where they were able to do specific analysis. They found that the aging on the skull was actually caused by a chemical solution mainly iron and chromic acid.

 The main fault of this skull being exposed so long fter its discovery, 50 years or so. Can be contributed to human emotion. Feelings of jealousy and desperation was the cause of so many British scientists claiming that this skull was in fact the real deal. They refused to believe it was a hoax and that Britain would be the birthplace of modern man. That is why it is important for many to come together to test and establish findings and theories. It is an unfortunate part of our nature that I feel can not be removed. For us to question our own origins I feel it is also necessary for us to find them ourselves. Not for gloating or showboating purposes but for the few who say it can't be done. Or for the people like in this case fail to accept evidence no matter how much is given to them.

Comparative Primate Blog- Diet

 Primates vary in shapes and sizes, and in the same regard so does their diet. Most if not all primates inhabit the tropical and subtropical regions of various continents. Each have adapted to live and thrive in that area.

 Looking at lemurs we can see that they are mainly from the island of Madagascar, which is comprised of the mainland and several smaller islets. It had split from India 88 million years ago. Madagascar due to its climate is popular choice for growing both coffee and raising cattle. The business in turn increases the human element.

 The fact that lemurs are endemic to this area puts their survival at risk. Deforestation threatens both the population and their food source. The practice of cut and burning vegetation for both space and to produce fertile land has decreased their available food sources. Most lemurs consume insects and fruit, and some of the larger species will eat plant material the diet is highly limited. This however does not mean that a hungry lemur will only eat what is in their normal diet. They been known to consume small vertebrates and even the ring tailed lemur  who has a diet of mostly fruits and leaves will eat small birds and chameleons when hungry enough. They are considered opportunistic eaters and will consume most anything. However human influence has greatly increased and caused a shift their diet as seen in the picture below.

The Second type of primate the Spider Monkey are found in tropical forests and are native to both South and Central America. The lowland forests in where live receives high amounts of rainfall. The trees of these forests are rather large and the long limbs of the spider monkey help it to reach the fruit and nuts it prefers. These amazing primates consume the fruits whole and when they are excreted they are still whole and are fertilized in the process. Like Lemurs when there isn't enough food they have been known to consume various things including bark. 

Unfortunately due to their popularity as a food source and the effects of human interference 2 of the seven species are critically endangered while the other are listed as endangered.

Baboons which are found primarily in Africa, which has various climates and landscapes. Most noted for being hot and humid. They have a wide range when it comes to diet and will eat fish, fruit, insects, hares, and small antelopes. They have been observed eating goats and and sheep as well. There has been a myth of baboons raiding villages and stealing human babies, but it has not been proven.

As you can see  baboons have extremely large canines, thus making them an intimidating animal. Interestingly the canines are larger on males then females and while they do look like carnivores their teeth have no relation to their diet. The teeth are used for display purposes for both territorial fights and to ward off predators such lion, leopards, and hyenas.

Gibbons or lesser apes are native to the subtropical and tropical forests. China, India, and Indonesia. China and Indonesia being one of the largest concentrations of human populations are constantly threatening all species. As such they have adapted like other animals and have changed diets. The Gibbons which are omnivores eat a wide varieties of plants and fruits. 

Gibbons also eat insects and plant shoots on occasion. 

Perhaps the most unique when it comes to diet and method is the Chimpanzee. They are native to Africa and have been observed as being the closet relatives to humans. Their diet like the other primates listed is very diverse, yet unlike they others listed they been known to use tools to gather their desired meal. It has been observed that chimpanzees will sharpen sticks into spears using their teeth to capture a bush baby from its resting place inside trees. They also use sticks to fish out termites or use rocks to destroy the mounds. The level of intelligence shown allows them to be pickier with their diet and obtain whatever it is they want. 

Analogy/Homology Blog post

  

    Analogous traits, or evolutionary responses due to environmental changes and stress can be seen throughout the animal kingdom. Once such example are sharks and dolphins, and while neither share a common ancestor both posses dorsal and pectoral fins with a similar body shape. Sharks being fish and dolphins mammals is clear sign of an analogous trait they both share. The streamlined body is essential in helping them to move quickly and muscles designed to propel them at amazing speeds.

However when we take a closer look at both these species the differences become clear. Such as both the difference in skeletal structure and its composition, cartilage for sharks and bones for dolphins.

We can see they both share the elongated spine which allows for the body to take its torpedo like appearance. Not surprisingly however, despite the appearance of a dolphins flipper it has the same skeletal structure as many other mammals; and unlike a shark it is able to move its flipper with limited range of motion. Such bones like the radius and ulna for example are present in mammals. When we look at a shark it has the appearance of a typical fish fin, complete with all those tiny little bones.

Going back to the ancestors of both species it is apparent that sharks have not really changed much since their first appearance around 450 mya, but the dolphin evolved from something different. It is also no surprise they both developed similar traits as these are the most effective means of movement in water. 

Homology a trait passed through a common ancestor and seen in different species and is and is a sign that there is a genetic relationship. Like the dolphin example above whales also posses a bone structure with a likeness to our own. So humans and whales share a homologous trait. Looking at the bone structure in the hand of a human and the fin of a whale again we can see how closely related they are. Even though this image has other animal examples I would to only focus on the 2 on the far left.

Of course due to the different living environments each species had to evolve its signature characteristic. Having our current arm shape wouldn't allow a whale move very fast in the water, and us having flippers of course would halt our ability to use tools. 

The above image features the common ancestor of man and whale. It wouldn't be hard to imagine this animal taking to the water and evolving into the whales we see today or even over time walking upright and becoming us. The fossils dug up of these interesting creatures have told us so many things about our origins.

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