I understand the actual knob on a breast for a feeding purpose . Wouldn’t just that be enough ? Why the areola around it especially with a different shade of colour to the rest of the breast ?
In: Biology
A lot of plausible answers here, but it’s worth considering that some features just appear stochastically without specifically being selected for or adaptively advantageous. We might have them because the advantages people name provide an adaptive advantage, but so far none of those answers are perfect because it’s not clear that the absence of those features provides a reduction in ability to propagate your genes. Many, and some argue, most, features appear as a result of genetic drift that isn’t actively harmful. The areola could be such a feature.
Related: could be a sex selection advantage. We’re the only mammals with permanently engorged breasts, likely because of sex selection. Areolas could be like that.
Latest Answers