What sort of selection pressure decides that jumping is good for species survival while running isn’t? Isn’t quadruped running just all around more energy efficient?
In: Biology
Evolution is not what’s the best or most efficient strategy.
It’s sitting in a room throwing shit at the wall to figure out what sticks and then when you find something that sticks running with the first option. Sometimes there is another team also throwing shit at the wall and they can outcompete you because their doodad is more efficient but not always.
So because there isn’t some overarching intelligent design you get things that just don’t make rational sense but also just happen to work. Sometimes they work just well enough to continue the species. Rats being tumor factories with really high birth rates are an example of this. They have a huge disadvantage in the fact that they are evolved to have very short lives, but they are also evolved to be very adaptable to multiple environments and they procreate very quickly. So the team throwing shit at the wall got breed fast & adaptable and totally missed the fact they also choose tumor factory.
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