Robert Clarkのインスタグラム(robertclarkphoto) - 2月12日 03時14分
Another of the animals that I shot for "Was Darwin Wrong?” The most offensive smelling animal I have very had the pleasure of meeting. The Echidnas, sometimes known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. The four extant species, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs. Their diet consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas. They live in Australia and New Guinea.
Echidnas evidently evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme. This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to life on land.
The echidnas are named after the "Mother of monsters" in Greek mythology, by association with her being half-woman, half-snake, as the animal was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles.. Molecular clock data suggest echidnas split from platypuses between 19 and 48 million years ago, and that platypus-like fossils dating back to over 112.5 million years ago therefore represent basal forms, rather than close relatives of the modern platypus. This would imply that echidnas evolved from water-foraging ancestors that returned to living completely on the land, even though this put them in competition with marsupials. Further evidence of possible water-foraging ancestors can be found in some of the echidna's phenotypic traits as well. Traits such as: as aqua dynamic streamlining, dorsally projecting hind limbs acting as rudders, and locomotion founded on hypertrophied humeral long-axis rotation, which provides a very efficient swimming stroke. @ナショナルジオグラフィック @thephotosociety @Robert Clark @instituteArtist
[BIHAKUEN]UVシールド(UVShield)
>> 飲む日焼け止め！「UVシールド」を購入する
3,954
62
2015/2/12
