MARK P L I MSOLL, LLC

[Home] [FAQ] [ShortWorks] [Blog] [Books] [Quotes] [About] [Contact]

Frog creativity

by Mark Plimsoll

Some scientists designed a study to:
1. Define some observable movements of frogs
2. Build an analysis of evolutionary patterns of behavior (among frog taxa) based on movement, with the "distribution of these behavior patterns mapped onto the most recent phylogenetic hypothesis for anurans."
Seems they underplayed the obvious: a species' morphology and bone structure adaptations to environment influences their behavior, though they hint at this in their conclusion, when they say "The physiological bases and ecological consequences of the evolution of movement patterns would provide interesting studies for future research"
The Oops! factor, or red-flag cautions about studying animals outside their environment:
All films made on a damp paper towel or in shallow water.
FOR EACH OF FIVE ARBOREAL SPECIES THAT DROPPED THE PREY, instead of normal lunge and tongue movements, they captured the prey with "forelimb grasping movements" like a Praying Mantis preying?
Synopsis of the character states cataloged:
Scoop (Backhanded shove into mouth, a "basal and widespread behavior") Particularly well-developed in aquatic frogs.
Wipe (prey pushed from side to center of mouth, the other "basal and widespread behavior") Seen only during "transport" of prey (absent only in pipian, the ugly tongueless aquatic frogs that pretend they're dead leaves and suck in food, i.e. "hydraulic transport")
Prey Stretch (prey held by mouth and hand) Seen only during "transport" of prey (ONLY WAXWORMS AND MEAL WORMS) May evolve from need to kill dangerous prey before a swallow.
Grasp (hotdog clasp), similar to climbing movements, (ARBOREAL SPECIES)
Grasp with rotation (grasp with flat-hand shove into mouth) "Terrestrial species may experience selection for reduced wrist rotation." This hints at how an elephant would eat gazelles, if you could find a carnivorous elephant.
This study almost ignores what seems to me obvious; that a creature's movements depend on morphology (especially bone and muscle structures) that evolve to environmental conditions. Humans stopped scratching behind their ears with a hind-foot when they became bipeds; that scratch method, at one time, demonstrated the basal and widespread behavior until the furless acuatic proto-humans crawled out of their hot springs.
Come to think of it, I saw something similar in the summer Olympics' gymnastics.