From: invalid@invalid.invalid   
      
   https://indiandefencereview.com/its-official-dolphins-and-orcas-   
   ave-now-crossed-the-point-of-no-return-in-their-evolution-of-ret   
   rning-to-land-again/   
      
   Dolphins and orcas, revered for their intelligence   
   and agility, have reached a pivotal point in their   
   evolutionary journey. New research has revealed   
   that these marine mammals, once land-dwellers, have   
   evolved to a stage where returning to life on land   
   is biologically impossible. A breakthrough study   
   underscores that after millions of years of   
   evolutionary change, dolphins and orcas are now   
   forever bound to the ocean.   
      
   Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B,   
   the study scrutinized over 5,600 mammal species   
   to understand how dolphins and orcas evolved from   
   semi-aquatic ancestors to fully marine life forms.   
   The research, led by Bruna Farina, a PhD candidate   
   at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland,   
   concludes that the transition from semi-aquatic to   
   fully aquatic is a one-way path. Once a species   
   makes this leap, its evolutionary direction becomes   
   irreversible.   
      
   Farina’s team found that this transition occurred   
   millions of years ago when mammals returned to the   
   sea. Unlike their terrestrial predecessors, dolphins   
   and orcas cannot evolve back to a land-based   
   lifestyle. Their adaptations—such as specialized   
   limbs, unique diets, and reproductive systems—have   
   become so ingrained that reversing these traits is   
   no longer possible.   
   ...   
      
   The paper is here   
      
   https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.1099   
   Dollo meets Bergmann: morphological evolution in   
   secondary aquatic mammals   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)