"objects; these include many primates, such as gorillas and chimpanzees, Australian koalas and aquatic mammal species such as the North American fisher. According to one study, even with an electron microscope, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between the fingerprints of a koala and a human. Koalas' independent development of fingerprints is an example of convergent evolution. Mark Twain's memoir ""Life on the Mississippi"" (1883), notable mainly for its account of the author's time on the river, also recounts parts of his later life, and includes tall tales and stories allegedly told to him. Among them is an involved,"
"are sometimes compared to the fingerprints in humans. For purposes of identification some breed registries require photographs of them among other individual characteristics. However, because chestnuts grow over time and horse grooms often peel or trim off the outer layers for neatness, their appearance is subject to change. The evolution of the horse involved a reduction in the number of toes to one, along with other changes to the ancestral equid foot. The chestnut is thought to correspond to the ""wrist pad"" of dogs and cats, or to be a vestigial scent gland similar to those found in some deer"
"humans. Human DNA is approximately 98.4% identical to that of chimpanzees when comparing single nucleotide polymorphisms (see human evolutionary genetics). The fossil record, however, of gorillas and chimpanzees is limited; both poor preservation—rain forest soils tend to be acidic and dissolve bone—and sampling bias probably contribute to this problem. Other hominins probably adapted to the drier environments outside the equatorial belt; and there they encountered antelope, hyenas, dogs, pigs, elephants, horses, and others. The equatorial belt contracted after about 8 million years ago, and there is very little fossil evidence for the split—thought to have occurred around that time—of the"
"then the chimpanzee (genus ""Pan"") split from the line leading to the humans. We have no fossil record of this divergence, but distinctively hominid fossils have been found dating to 3.2 Ma (see Lucy) and possibly even earlier, at 6 or 7 Ma (see Toumaï). Comparisons of DNA show that 99.4 percent of the coding regions are identical in chimpanzees and humans (95–96% overall), which is taken as strong evidence of recent common ancestry. Today, only one distinct human species survives, but many earlier species have been found in the fossil record, including ""Homo erectus"", ""Homo habilis"", and ""Homo neanderthalensis""."
"The creatures have always been described as looking neither like man or monkey, but covered with coarse hair and oozing sores. They are foul smelling. They are about four feet tall and have claw-like fingers. In 1925, a trapper reported losing a dog in the hills there, but finding strange tracks, with the hind feet resembling a cross between a bear's and a human's footprints. The trapper returned later to find the traps, he had hastily left, some were sprung, some weren't. Some were destroyed. He took out to try to find his dog, and was never seen again. Taken"
"unlikely discovery because they closely resemble modern human footprints, despite being almost 4 million years old. It is noted that the toe pattern is much the same as the human foot, which is much different than the feet of chimpanzees and other non-bipedal beings. The footprint impression has been interpreted as the same as the modern human stride, with the heel striking first and then a weight transfer to the ball of the foot before pushing off the toes. Based on stratigraphic analysis, the findings also provide insight into the climate at the time of the making of the footprints."
"and are the approximately the same age as the footprints found at Ileret. Differences have been found between these footprints and common apes. According to Rutgers University, “the big toe is parallel to the other toes, unlike that of apes where it is separated in a grasping configuration useful in the trees.” The arch of the footprint is also human-like and the toes are much shorter than those of an ape. Short toes are a sign of “upright bipedal stance.” Additionally, relevant observations point to similarities between ""H. erectus"" and modern humans. The footprints reveal comparable body weights, strides and"
"a narrow neck and bulbous asymmetrical distal pad. The lateral digit impressions become progressively smaller so that the digital region as a whole is strongly asymmetrical. Morphometric analysis showed the footprints to have outlines that are distinct from modern non-hominin primates and resemble those of hominins. While younger than fossil records of hominins such as Sahelanthropus, found in Chad and dated around seven million years ago, the discovery potentially challenges the generally accepted theory that all early hominins were only present in Africa. The print morphology suggests that the trackmaker was a basal member of the clade Hominini, but as"
"human ancestral fossils in relation to ""Ardipithecus"", and concluded that the comparison data is not sufficient to support an exclusive human lineage. Sarmiento noted that ""Ardipithecus"" does not share any characters exclusive to humans and some of its characters (those in the wrist and basicranium) suggest it diverged from the common human/African ape stock prior to the human, chimpanzee and gorilla divergence His comparative (narrow allometry) study in 2011 on the molar and body segment lengths (which included living primates of similar body size) noted that some dimensions including short upper limbs, and metacarpals are reminiscent of humans, but other"
"like a man with a face like that of a spider. It has two arms and its hands are sickle-shaped claws. They are also known for being particularly skilled in trap making and delivering venomous bites. Ettercaps resemble hunched, grey-purplish humanoids with distended white bellies, spider-like faces (fangs and eyes and such), long skinny arms, short stubby legs, and two sharp, black chitinous claws instead of hands and feet. They are not particularly intelligent, yet they possess the capability to shoot sticky webs, can inject a paralyzing venom from their fangs, and have an affinity for spiders. Ettercaps are cowardly"
"of species but dominated by b-Proteobacteria and Flavobacteriales. Ecologically, sebaceous areas had greater species richness than moist and dry ones. The areas with least similarity between people in species were the spaces between fingers, the spaces between toes, axillae, and umbilical cord stump. Most similarly were beside the nostril, nares (inside the nostril), and on the back. Reflecting upon the diversity of the human skin researchers on the human skin microbiome have observed: ""hairy, moist underarms lie a short distance from smooth dry forearms, but these two niches are likely as ecologically dissimilar as rainforests are to deserts."" The NIH"
"dated to around 10 million years ago, may be represented by ""Sivapithecus"" from India and ""Griphopithecus"" from Turkey. Species close to the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans may be represented by ""Nakalipithecus"" fossils found in Kenya and ""Ouranopithecus"" found in Greece. Molecular evidence suggests that between 8 and 4 million years ago, first the gorillas (genus ""Gorilla""), and then the chimpanzees (genus ""Pan"") split off from the line leading to the humans. Human DNA is approximately 98.4% identical to that of chimpanzees when comparing single nucleotide polymorphisms (see human evolutionary genetics). The fossil record, however, of gorillas"
"that the ancestor of this parasite clade could have been already present in hominid ancestors. ""Plasmodium gaboni"" is 10-fold more diverse than human parasite ""Plasmodium falciparum"", indicating a very recent origin of the latter. ""Plasmodium gaboni"" is similar to both ""Plasmodium falciparum"" and to ""Plasmodium reichenowi"" in microscopic studies, seeming likely that all of these ape Laverania parasites represent morphologically indistinguishable species. ""Plasmodium gaboni"" can be found in Western Africa. Study has confirmed the presence of ""Plasmodium gaboni"" in wild chimpanzees (subspecies ""Pan troglodytes troglodytes"" and ""Pan troglodytes vellerosus""). Due to the close proximity between ""Plasmodium gaboni"" and the most"
"""Macrocnemus"", represented by the ichnogenus ""Rhynchosauroides"", likely fed on the horseshoe crabs’ eggs. Chirotherium Chirotherium, also known as Cheirotherium (‘hand-beast’), is the name of a Triassic trace fossil consisting of five-fingered (pentadactyle) footprints and whole tracks. These look, by coincidence, remarkably like the hands of apes and bears, with the outermost toe having evolved to extend out to the side like a thumb, although probably only functioning to provide a firmer grip in mud. ""Chirotherium"" tracks were first found in 1834 in Lower Triassic sandstone (Buntsandstein) in Thuringia, Germany, dating from about 243 million years ago (mya). The creatures who"
"Empusidae Empusidae is a family of plant-mimicking Mantids [1] (see Mantodea), consisting of 10 genera, holding almost 30 species [6]. Unlike many other mantid families, Empusidae is a monophyletic lineage [1][2][3]. Empusidae mantids are ambush predators [3], with mouthparts adapted to feeding on other insects and small animals [2]. The majority of Empusidae species are distributed throughout Africa, but they are also found in south-east Asia and in the southern parts of Europe [4]. The empusidae species Gongylus gongylodes (Linné, 1758)[1] was the first mantid species ever to be described. Since, Gongylus mantids have been fascinating entomologists and have been"
"may be simple tactile organs outwardly resembling the legs, as in spiders, or chelate weapons (pincers) of great size, as in the scorpions. Comparative studies of pedipalpal morphology may suggest that leg-like pedipalps are primitive in arachnids. At present, the only reasonable alternative to this view is to assume that Xiphosurans reflect the morphology of the primitive arachnid pedipalp and to conclude that this appendage is primitively chelate. Pedipalps are traditionally thought to be homologous with mandibles in crustaceans and insects, although more recent studies (e.g. using Hox genes) suggest they are probably homologous with the crustacean second antennae. Chelate"
"gene enhancer ""that may have contributed to the evolution of the uniquely opposable human thumb, and possibly also modifications in the ankle or foot that allow humans to walk on two legs"". Evidence to date shows that of the 110,000 gene enhancer sequences identified in the human genome, HACNS1 has undergone the most change during the human evolution since the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. The thumb is not opposable in all primates — some primates, such as the spider monkey and colobus, are virtually thumbless. The spider monkey compensates for this by using the hairless part of its long, prehensile"
"The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and orangutans (genus ""Pongo"") were the first groups to split from the line leading to the humans, then gorillas (genus ""Gorilla"") followed by the chimpanzees (genus ""Pan""). The splitting date between human and chimpanzee lineages is placed around 4–8 million years ago during the late Miocene epoch. During this split, chromosome 2 was formed from two other chromosomes, leaving humans with only 23 pairs of chromosomes, compared to 24 for the other apes. There is little fossil evidence for the divergence of the gorilla, chimpanzee and hominin lineages. The earliest fossils that have been proposed as"
"are small, sometimes microscopic animals that resemble centipedes superficially and live in soils. Millipedes differ from the other groups in having their body segments fused into pairs, giving the appearance that each segment bears two pairs of legs, while the other three groups have a single pair of legs on each body segment. Although not generally considered dangerous to humans, many millipedes produce noxious secretions (often containing benzoquinones) which in rare cases can cause temporary blistering and discolouration of the skin. Large centipedes, however, can bite humans, and although the bite may cause intense pain and discomfort, fatalities are extremely"
"from those of modern large quadrupeds, such as elephants. Rather than splaying out to the sides to create a wide foot as in elephants, the manus bones of sauropods were arranged in fully vertical columns, with extremely reduced finger bones (though it is not clear if the most primitive sauropods, such as ""Vulcanodon"" and ""Barapasaurus"", had such forefeet). The front feet were so modified in eusauropods that individual digits would not have been visible in life. The arrangement of the forefoot bone (""metacarpal"") columns in eusauropods was semi-circular, so sauropod forefoot prints are horseshoe-shaped. Unlike elephants, print evidence shows that"
"resemble Noctuidae although the families are not closely related. The adults do not feed. Many species have a tuft of hair on the trailing edge of the forewing which protrudes upwards at rest. This gives them their scientific name ""back tooth"" and the common name of prominents. The common names of some other species reflect their hairiness, such as puss moth and the group commonly known as kittens (""Furcula"" spp.), so named as they resemble small versions of the puss moth. The egg is hemispherical or almost spherical, and lacks any ribs (Scoble, 1995). The caterpillars are usually hairless, but"
"""Homo"" and ""Pan"". Due to the scarcity of fossil evidence for CHLCA candidates, Mounier (2016) presented a project to create a ""virtual fossil"" by applying digital ""morphometrics"" and statistical algorithms to fossils from across the evolutionary history of both ""Homo"" and ""Pan"", having previously used this technique to visualize a skull of the last common ancestor of ""Neanderthal"" and ""Homo sapiens"". Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor The chimpanzee–human last common ancestor, or CHLCA, is the last common ancestor shared by the extant ""Homo"" (human) and ""Pan"" (chimpanzee) genera of Hominini. Due to complex hybrid speciation, it is not possible to give"
"Graecopithecus Graecopithecus freybergi is a hominin originally identified by a single mandible found in 1944. Since then, analysis of tooth specimens, dated to 7.2 million years ago, has led to suggestions that ""Graecopithecus"" may have been the oldest direct ancestor of humans excluding the chimpanzee lineage, or alternatively the last common ancestor of both humans and chimpanzees. The creature was nicknamed ‘El Graeco' by scientists. The original ""Graecopithecus"" specimen mandible was found in 1944, ""reportedly unearthed as the occupying German forces were building a wartime bunker"". The mandible with a third molar that is very worn, the root of a"
"a grasping thumb and fingers. It allows humans the dexterity and strength to make and use complex tools. This unique anatomical feature separates humans from apes and other nonhuman primates, and is not seen in human fossils older than 1.8 million years. Bernard Wood noted that ""Paranthropus"" co-existed with the early ""Homo"" species in the area of the ""Oldowan Industrial Complex"" over roughly the same span of time. Although there is no direct evidence which identifies ""Paranthropus"" as the tool makers, their anatomy lends to indirect evidence of their capabilities in this area. Most paleoanthropologists agree that the early ""Homo"""
"at the tips of the phialides. Lower microscopy shows pin-head spore ball formation. Species of ""Acremonium"" are morphologically very similar, making identification difficult. Shown in the image is a microscopic image of ""A. falciforme"", an example showing the morphological similarities to ""A. strictum"". Cases involving different species of ""Acremonium"" are often reported as simply as an ""Acremonium"" species, which reduces the amount of accurate information on the clinical presentation of ""A. strictum"". Isolates of phylogenetically remote species of ""Acremonium"" show considerable convergence. As a human pathogen, diagnosis is made in isolation and identification of the fungus from granules in tissue"
"back to Roy Britten and colleagues around 1970, but was still weakly supported by observation or experiment. He granted that chimps and humans are almost 99% identical at DNA level, but points out that ""humans and chimps have different amino-acid sequences in at least 55% of their proteins, a figure that rises to 95% for humans and mice. Thus we can't exclude protein-sequence evolution as an important reason why we lack whiskers and tails."" He also noted that nearly half of human protein-coding genes do not have homologues in fruit flies, so one could argue the opposite of Carroll's thesis"
"million years; there are no fossils that clearly document the ancestry of gibbons, which may have originated in a so-far-unknown South East Asian hominoid population, but fossil proto-orangutans may be represented by ""Sivapithecus"" from India and ""Griphopithecus"" from Turkey, dated to around 10 million years ago. Species close to the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans may be represented by ""Nakalipithecus"" fossils found in Kenya and ""Ouranopithecus"" found in Greece. Molecular evidence suggests that between 8 and 4 million years ago, first the gorillas, and then the chimpanzees (genus ""Pan"") split off from the line leading to the"
"of which ""Homo sapiens"" (modern humans) is the only living specimen. In 1758 Carl Linnaeus introduced the name ""Homo sapiens"" as a species name in the 10th edition of his work ""Systema Naturae"" although without a scientific description of the species-specific characteristics. Since the great apes were considered the closest relatives of human beings, based on morphological similarity, in the 19th century, it was speculated that the closest living relatives to humans were chimpanzees and gorillas, and based on the natural range of these creatures, it was surmised that humans shared a common ancestor with African apes and that fossils"
"such as Hylidae, Bufonidae, and Leptodactylidae, but until recently, its closer relatives were unknown. ""Allophryne"" is similar in its general shape to tree frogs of the family Hylidae, but differs by having the last phalanges of fingers and toes T-shaped, a character found in glassfrogs, while tree frogs have claw-shaped ones. When herpetologist G. K. Noble examined ""Allophryne"", he suggested it was closely related to glassfrogs, a hypothesis later confirmed by recent phylogenetic studies, which have found ""Allophryne"" is the sister taxon of the glassfrog clade Centroleninae. The glassfrogs differ from ""Allophryne"" by having much more delicate skulls and by"
"Asia is not well mapped with regard to human evolution, and the above finds may represent a group of ""Asian Neanderthals"". The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from the finger bone differs from that of modern humans by 385 bases (nucleotides) out of approximately 16,500, whereas the difference between modern humans and Neanderthals is around 202 bases. In contrast, the difference between chimpanzees and modern humans is approximately 1,462 mtDNA base pairs. This suggested a divergence time around one million years ago. The mtDNA from a tooth bore a high similarity to that of the finger bone, indicating that they belonged to"
"Since then, scientists discovered ""Ardipithecus ramidus"", a human-like hominid descended from the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans. ""Ar. ramidus"" engaged in upright walking, but not knuckle-walking. This leads scientists to conclude that chimpanzees evolved knuckle-walking after they split from humans 6 million years ago, and humans evolved upright walking without knuckle-walking. Chimpanzees and gorillas engage in knuckle-walking. This form of hand-walking posture allows these tree climbers to use their hands for terrestrial locomotion while retaining long fingers for gripping and climbing. It may also allow small objects to be carried in the fingers while walking on all fours. This"
"paralog of human TMEM 249 is found in the second isoform of the protein in Gorillas. Of the 217 amino acids aligned between gorilla and human TMEM 249, 96% are in complete consensus and 99% are conserved. TMEM 249 orthologs includes all groups of life except birds, fungi, archea, protists, and plants. The most distant ortholog, Rozella allomycis, was the most diverged species that qualified as an ortholog. The last shared ancestor between Rozella allomycis and Homo sapiens is the Opisthokonts. No homologs or homologous domains exist within TMEM 249. No fungi orthologs were found in the search for similar"
"of ganoin which is essentially homologous to tooth enamel, making them nearly impenetrable. Lacépède first described the alligator gar in 1803. The original name was ""Lepisosteus spatula"", but was later changed by E.O. Wiley in 1976 to ""Atractosteus spatula"" to recognize two distinct taxa of gars. Synonyms of ""Atractosteus spatula"" include ""Lesisosteus"" [sic] ""ferox"" (Rafinesque 1820), and ""Lepisosteus spatula"" (Lacepede 1803). Fossils from the order Lepisosteiformes have been collected in Europe from the Cretaceous to Oligocene periods, in Africa and India from the Cretaceous, and in North America from the Cretaceous to recent times. The Lepisosteidae are the only extant"