From: 69jpil69@gmail.com   
      
   On Sun, 6 Jul 2025 21:09:14 -0600, Pro Plyd    
   wrote:   
      
   >   
   >https://indiandefencereview.com/its-official-dolphins-and-orcas   
   have-now-crossed-the-point-of-no-return-in-their-evolution-of-re   
   urning-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   
      
      
   While a strict understanding of Dollo is almost certainly true, there   
   are accepted cases ex. tortoises where convergent evolution recreated   
   functionally similar structures/behaviors.   
      
   --    
   To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)