4 ms·
Armchair evolutionist suggestion: because there must be something in the code that makes them better than other species at being picky mating? Or particularly s
by usrusr 2y ago
Armchair evolutionist suggestion: because there must be something in the code that makes them better than other species at being picky mating? Or particularly susceptible for breaking compatibility in terms of successful mating?
- mc_maurer 2y agoI think this is much closer than the "they're a very good blank slate". There are plenty of exceptionally successful groups of organisms with far less diversity. The point is not how successful beetles are, it's how differentiated they are. Something about their ability to occupy niches that promote isolation and therefore speciation has to be involved.
- LordDragonfang 2y agoThe article mentioned that they diversified early due to the diversification of the first flowering plants, so re-radiating into each others' niches over the following hundred million years could certainly help that while keeping species distinct.
- heresie-dabord 2y ago> The point is not how successful beetles are, it's how differentiated they are. Something about their ability to occupy niches that promote isolation and therefore speciation It's also how differentiated (and isolated) the habitats themselves became over 100s of millions of years of climate change and plate tectonics.
- ethbr1 2y agoTIL: some beetles have species-specific genitalia I suppose that helps with species longevity.
- throwawaymaths 2y agoIs it picky mating? Beetjes (and other insects) lay a bajillion eggs so access to highly diverse evolution seems reasonable.