Research
Scientists discover that necks didn't evolve for the reason we thought
The Brief
- Scientists report that the first animals to move onto land, nearly 380 million years ago, had surprisingly stiff necks.
- The finding challenges a long-standing theory that necks evolved to help animals turn their heads.
- According to the source, necks may instead have emerged as part of another adaptation; the full details were not available in the provided excerpt.
Why it matters
It revises the accepted explanation for how vertebrate necks evolved, which matters for anyone reconstructing the anatomy and movement of early land animals.
Who’s affected
- paleontologists and evolutionary biologists
- #evolution
- #paleontology
- #land animals
- #neck anatomy
Scientists have discovered that the first animals to venture onto land nearly 380 million years ago had surprisingly stiff necks, overturning a long-standing theory about evolution. Rather than evolving to help animals turn their heads, necks may have emerged as part of the…
Timeline
Plants & Animals News -- ScienceDaily
Scientists discover that necks didn't evolve for the reason we thought
Findings reported by ScienceDaily