The biological ‘five finger rule’ is strikingly consistent throughout living tetrapod vertebrates. Humans and other primates, most carnivorous mammals, crocodiles, lizards and tortoises all typically possess the five digits (fingers and toes) characteristic of tetrapod limbs. It wasn’t always so – the ancient ancestors of the first vertebrates to walk on land, such as Ichthyostega and Acanthostega, had up to…
Tag: moles
In Focus: Can golden moles hear the earth move with a Thor-like ‘hammer’?
The golden moles (Chrysochloridae) are a group of silky and rather endearing group of mammals resembling, but distinct from, the true moles (talpids). Indeed, they are more closely related to elephants and manatees than to moles, shrews, rodents or other seemingly similar animals. They share many features with moles, such as adaptations to burrowing, and inhabit…
Anatomy To You 