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submitted 4 months ago by Stamets@lemmy.world to c/adhd@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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[-] Avalokitesha@programming.dev 2 points 4 months ago

That is so cool! Are there any theories as to why elephants have grown so big when one of the closest relatives is so small?

Fun fact: I had to look up what a shrew is, since I'm not a native speaker. It turns out in my native tongue the name has mouse in it, despite shrews not being mice!

[-] Jorgelino@lemmy.ml 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

When i say they're one of the closest, it doesn't necessarily mean they're close, just that a lot of the other, more closely related ones, such as mammoths, are extinct. That said, the closest living relatives to elephants are actually manatees and dugongs.

These are still different animals that evolved to fill different niches though. They're part of the clade Afrotheria, which is very, very diverse.