tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post221191360135211047..comments2024-02-25T12:26:48.318-08:00Comments on Metazoica: Family of the Week: The Scaly HaresDee TimmyHutchFanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15186094514615567835noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-33940049034552250262009-02-01T16:42:00.000-08:002009-02-01T16:42:00.000-08:00Definitely. While tenrecs may not beat pangolins i...Definitely. While tenrecs may not beat pangolins in the specialized colonial insect-eating game, and pangolins will still be around in the future (they have been since the Eocene), tenrecs could beat them in just about any non-insectovorous niches. Tenrecs have a huge sagital cres (which anchors jaw muscles) and some wicked teeth. In fact, they almost appear to be a miniature version of an Andrewsarchus or entelodont skull, both deadly carnivores. And armored animals are surprisingly good swimmers, nodosaurs have been found in the middle of the Niobrara seaway (and it couldn't have been bloat and float, since the species is not known from the continental side of the seaway), and armadillos have been seen swimming across the Rio Grande. As for pangolins, I can see them taking the ant-eating niches across all of the world, except in Central and South America, where anteaters are still dominant.Metalraptorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053007518293924808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-27353099108337283622009-02-01T14:57:00.000-08:002009-02-01T14:57:00.000-08:00By that time, I would think Madagascar would be so...By that time, I would think Madagascar would be so far from the mainland, tenrecs might not think it's worth the swim. And the pangolins are already there. Could tenrecs out-compete pangolins?Dee TimmyHutchFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186094514615567835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-32050102172917426162009-02-01T14:24:00.000-08:002009-02-01T14:24:00.000-08:00So why couldn't the tenrecs evolve like this and s...So why couldn't the tenrecs evolve like this and spread out, since the double-grazers did. It seems like a large tenrec could easily swim between Lemuria and Africa. Unusually, armored animals seem to be actually good swimmers, like the armadillos and nodosaursMetalraptorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053007518293924808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-86901668695223196612009-02-01T13:52:00.000-08:002009-02-01T13:52:00.000-08:00"Lemurs are only confined to Madagascar and Africa..."Lemurs are only confined to Madagascar and Africa, elephant shrews are all African, etc."<BR/><BR/>Africa will be colliding with Europe though, and allow these animals to migrate once they get larger, or even before. The lemurs in my site are all mostly descended from bushbabies which will also have a chance to migrate. The only exceptions are the propithecines and the pseudosims and they are confined to Madagascar. :)Dee TimmyHutchFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186094514615567835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-38417544401154055892009-02-01T10:21:00.000-08:002009-02-01T10:21:00.000-08:00But that still doesn't explain how they arbitraril...But that still doesn't explain how they arbitrarily became omnivores. I can see a toothless insectivore becoming somewhat of a scavenger or a predator, but its is rather hard to develop a system that allows one to digest plants, especially tough plants like roots and tubers instead of easy-to-digest fruit. (I'm assuming this because you said that scaly hares live like bears).<BR/><BR/>Insectivores that keep their teeth are also a better candidate for evolving into herbivores. I mean the first condylarth is sometimes thought to be a herbivore.<BR/><BR/>Here's a suggestion for a true pangolin that evolved in tandem with the scaly hares...<BR/><BR/>Pseudoleporursus - While at first glance this species appears to be a scaly hare, it is actually a descendant of the pangolins. Unlike scaly hares, who have a more varied diet, Pseudoleporursus lives more like its southern xenarthran counterpart Formiciarctos, living on ants, clams, and scavenging carrion.<BR/><BR/>"Pangolins though are already in Asia. All they would have to do when Asia collides with the US is walk on over."<BR/><BR/>Lemurs are only confined to Madagascar and Africa, elephant shrews are all African, etc.Metalraptorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053007518293924808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-61846168116957684672009-01-26T18:41:00.000-08:002009-01-26T18:41:00.000-08:00Well, that's true too. More likely as well. Pangol...Well, that's true too. More likely as well. Pangolins though are already in Asia. All they would have to do when Asia collides with the US is walk on over.Dee TimmyHutchFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186094514615567835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-88971807401634410172009-01-26T18:28:00.000-08:002009-01-26T18:28:00.000-08:00Well, you have double-grazers making their way out...Well, you have double-grazers making their way out of Lemuria. Perhaps the tenrecs, after developing a larger form that could swim better, could cross the strait. I mean armadillos are very good swimmers (not the best comparison I know, but still). And they could possibly cross when the strait was still narrow, like how caviomorph rodents and primates got to South America while the gap between the two was still relativetly small. And of course, tenrecs are excellent candidates for sweepstakes migration (stranded on floating rafts of vegetation).Metalraptorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053007518293924808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-40036885452011534482009-01-26T17:15:00.000-08:002009-01-26T17:15:00.000-08:00The only problem is that except for the otter shre...The only problem is that except for the otter shrews, tenrecs are mostly confined to Madagascar.Dee TimmyHutchFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186094514615567835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-938713220377547711.post-71026005084557724642009-01-26T17:09:00.000-08:002009-01-26T17:09:00.000-08:00No offense, but I really don't see pangolins, who ...No offense, but I really don't see pangolins, who are near-toothless specialized ant-eaters, becoming a diverse group so easily (anteaters...maybe, since you mentioned Formiciarctos is also a kleptoparasite). Instead, pehaps a tenrec species developed armored scales, which allowed them to grow large because they then had no predators, and shift their diet to include a wider range of foods. It would also fit in with the theme of "African Invasion" that went on in the Metazoic, where a wave of trelebrates, carnivorous "rats" (dormice), chevrotains, next-gen antelope, bushbabies, and predatory mongooses and civets all spread out of Africa.Metalraptorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053007518293924808noreply@blogger.com