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alternate earths; What if evolutionary divergence caused humans to never evolve because some invertebrate group took their place long before?
Topic Started: Apr 15 2010, 11:43 PM (1,197 Views)
megasquidward
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I have this idea regarding all these parallel earths where a divergence somewhere along evolutionary history caused humans to never evolve, because the divergence caused some group of invertebrates to eventually fill the place humans did on this earth. The invertebrates in the group that did so on each earth look like a hybrid between people & the corresponding "human earth" species in that group, but are, anatomically, 100% the corresponding earth species.
Edited by megasquidward, Apr 15 2010, 11:47 PM.
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Pando
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Yes, but they all had an ENDOSKELETON. EXOSKELETONS do not work.
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colddigger
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Why not develop a usual mollusk shell style exoskeleton, something that gradually grows as the animal grows and is calcium based?
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Pando
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Because he wants elephant-sized cephalopods. Something bigger than a small deer or so (I think that that's even too big) can't live with an exoskeleton because their internal body will have no support and it will ooze down into a blog.
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colddigger
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Elephant sized? Ohhh...

Maybe if you have hundreds of pin-like and ring-like grows that go from the outside shell into the animal to act as internal support?
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megasquidward
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Honestly, haven't you guys watched The Future is Wild? No offense meant, & sorry if I sound like a metaphoric butt hole. Also, all ostracoderms had as far as an endoskeleton goes was a notochord & a cartilaginous skull. Maybe something like a turtle's shell, with ostracoderm plating at the joints? Also, now we should stop arguing about the implausibility of an exoskeleton on a human-sized creature. How about other aspects of these alternate earths? During the alt-earth's 21st century, the O2 levels are still like those of human-earth's Carboniferous. Also, how about talking about the plausibility of applying the an exoskeleton to human-SHAPED (but not sized) organisms.
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Rhob
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May 1 2010, 01:04 AM
Because he wants elephant-sized cephalopods. Something bigger than a small deer or so (I think that that's even too big) can't live with an exoskeleton because their internal body will have no support and it will ooze down into a blog.
Really? So connective tissue can never happen with exoskeletons?

More generally, I've explained in one or more earlier threads that exoskeletons can most certainly work with larger organisms. If you'd like, I can find the links to these threads.
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Giant Squidward
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Yes, I'd like to see those posts, Rhob. I used to be megasquidward, but my computer got destroyed & I forgot my password.
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