this post was submitted on 06 May 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] Neon@lemmy.world 18 points 6 months ago (3 children)

okay, but seriously, why did they evolve so differently than modern-day fish? and if we magically reintroduced them, would they be more fit or less fit than modern-day fish?

[–] ImInLoveWithLife@lemm.ee 23 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I am not a biologist or really anyone with any authority on the matter. Just some guy who likes to read and think about all manner of subjects, so I cannot adequately explain anything here, but if you're interested in the why, it really boils down to the simplicity of morphological structures early in the development of life on earth, to more complex as evolution did its thing. That's not to say that evolution has a goal, just that added complexity often means greater advantages. Also, it isn't as though nothing similar to these creatures exist at all today. These basal forms were a prerequisite to the life we see in the oceans (and on land) today.

Definitely stay interested and read more about morphology and evolution in general! Fascinating stuff.

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 6 months ago

One of the big advances around then was being able to be an effective predator at all. It's likely one of the big causes for the Cambrian explosion was the arms race to not be eaten vs being able to eat your neighbors effectively.