Eli5 : why do humans look different but animals and other species look the same?
In: Earth Science
Most animals are fairly specific to their environment, and are adapated to that. Part of what’s made humans the most successful animal (insects aside) is our adaptability – our ability to survive in (almost) any environemrnt. We have spread all over the planet, and our physicality has changed according to the diferent environments (eg darker skins in sunnier climates) – and then we have moved and mixed again and inter-bred – hence there is large gene-pool from which we are made, and hence our different looks.
Some farmed and domesticated animals exhibit something similar, where artificial breeding has resulted in different breeds of the same animal, with different characteristics and looks. Think how different so many dogs look – even dogs of the same breed.
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