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I could have sworn the parasite theory is very old. I even recall genetic studies of human head and pubic lice vs. ape and gorilla lice. The genetic history of
by asdlfj2sd33 17y ago
I could have sworn the parasite theory is very old. I even recall genetic studies of human head and pubic lice vs. ape and gorilla lice. The genetic history of the lice matched nicely with our hair loss genes.
And I have no trouble believing this, as well as hunting by running down, and sexual selection and fire all contributed to our hairlessnes.
Sexual selection in particular is very powerful. It routinely spawns new species. Just one female that prefers something different in males, can quickly lead to a reproductively isolated population.
Just about the only thing that I don't think is a factor is an aquatic ape phase.
- jacobolus 17y agoYes, it’s quite interesting, it turns out that human pubic lice share closer ancestors with gorilla lice than either chimpanzee or human head lice do, while those species are quite close to each-other. Which means that when humans became hairless, their lice adapted to living on their heads and stopped living all over the rest of their bodies, leaving a perfect ecological niche (pubic hair) for gorilla lice to jump into. The evolution of "body lice" likewise corresponds with the earliest uses of clothing.