Friday, May 13, 2011

Fingers and thumbs




Koalas have fingerprints identical to humans and that has now been documented down to the microscopic level (1st image set). "The remarkable thing about koala prints is that they seem to have evolved independently....Scientists think the koala's fingertip features developed much more recently...because most of its close relatives (such as wombats and kangaroos) lack them." That was the weird news earlier in the month, although it is not that unusual for animals that grip, such as gorillas and chimpanzees to have fingerprints. What’s more surprising to those of us unfamiliar with Australian wildlife is that koalas have 2 thumbs on each hand (2nd image, illustration, and 3rd image, by Irish photographer Jody Neville)…

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