Animals that you never would have thought they were relatives.
We’ve learned that the relationship determines the resemblance: is it fair to expect a couple blue-eyed blondes have the same blonde kid with eyes of heavenly color. However, the nature of the known and far more intricate family ties. Quite often, ties of blood unite the species, do not resemble each other neither in outward appearance nor the way of life. Introducing animals that you would never have thought that they were siblings.
Already for anybody not a secret that whales and dolphins, although looks very similar to fish, are mammals. They breathe air, feed their young milk, and their tails are fused hind limbs. It is not surprising that scientists have searched for the ancestors of cetaceans among land animals. For a long time it was believed that their ancestors were mezonigie is curious of the extinct mammals that unites the signs of carnivores (eat meat) and ungulates (instead of feet had hooves). However, recently it was revealed that the closest relatives of whales and dolphins are hippos the representatives of the group of ungulates that includes pigs, camels, giraffes and deer. As shown by genetic analysis that whales and hippos there is a common ancestor that lived 50-60 million years ago. The degree rodstvenikam great that it was even proposed to create a common squad cytopathicity.
As you know, “born to crawl — can not fly”. But for nature there are no rules. Albatrosses and petrels — the true kings of the sky. Most of the time they spend, hovering above the ocean and looking for prey. To the mortal earth albatrosses and petrels only come down to give life to offspring. About 60 million years ago these sea vagabonds separated the penguins, who traded the azure of the sky to the blue of the sea. To survive in the new environment they had to adapt.The body is like a torpedo, wings to fins, and the legs got a swimming paddles and moved back, giving the penguins a characteristic gait. As a result of evolution, the penguins became so peculiar in appearance that scientists have long considered them a special group of birds, and genetic studies have proved their kinship with sea birds, in particular members of the squad trubkovich, which includes albatrosses and petrels.
Fierce and brave Rikki-Tikki-Tavi would be greatly surprised to learn that scientists have recorded in hyenas relatives to Mangusta. Similar to large dogs hyenas have long been used in humans undeservedly bad reputation. What they are is not only attributed: and an unhealthy love of digging graves, and the ability to change sex, and homosexual relationships. But petite flexible mongoose, which in its natural habitat are quite ordinary Pets like cats, from the time of Rudyard Kipling have become universal favorites, and great hunters of snakes. But no matter how amazing the relationship between mongooses and hyenas, it seems even more implausible is the fact that they both are cousins of tigers, lions, leopards and common seals. They all belong to maskoobraznym — one of two suborders of the group of predators (the second dog-like family).
Believe it or not, but tireless workers ants, and bees (one of the few domesticated insects), and fat fluffy bumblebees, wasps, and sassy — all of them are in close relationship and are in the order Hymenoptera. For a long time it was believed that ants evolved from wasps and in the course of evolution have lost the wings, proved unnecessary in the conditions of life under the earth (the wings have only males and females are fully capable of procreation). However, recent genetic studies have shown that the closest relatives of ants are bees. By the way, termites are similar to ants in appearance and device of “public life”, nothing to do with him not and are related to cockroaches and mantids.
Guinea pig & porcupine
These little animals have nothing to do with pigs, neither with the sea nor with Guinea (another common name is Guinea pig). In the life of a human Guinea pig walked almost 7000 years ago the South American Indians cultivated them for meat. But the closest relatives of Guinea pigs — porcupines — life circumstances forced to grow needle and cultivate daring. Unlike superficially similar to hedgehogs, porcupines during an emergency prefer not to curl into a tight prickly ball, and raise your head and fighting stomp, rattling the needles. If this does not help, the porcupine turns around and starts to bawl attacker. Injections it is very painful, in addition, the needle loose in the skin of a porcupine, and therefore are easily separated. As a result, instead of lunch, careless predator has all the chances to get in the best case, poorly healing wounds, at worst a bunch of needles sticking out of the muzzle and paws.
Elephants are the largest land mammals, characterized by a high degree of intelligence. What could they have in common with tailless similar to the marmots hyraxes? This relationship does not seem so surprising if we remember that the first mammals could not boast of size. Giants such as still alive elephants and extinct mammoths, appeared much later. Many millions of years ago, a common ancestor of elephants and hyraxes flourished, being the most common herbivores of Africa. However, with the emergence of numerous representatives of the group of bovids — water Buffalo and antelope — the situation has changed. To survive, the former kings of the dark continent had to make a difficult choice: some decreased in size, giving rise to modern hyraxes, the other changed the habitat — took to the water. That last happened all Hootie: elephants, mammoths, mastodons. Today multi-ton giants and small, weighing up to 3 kg, Daman combines similar structure of the teeth and skeleton.
Seals & polar bears
They are close relatives, but nature threw them on different sides of the barricades, making the first lunch to second. Indeed, seals are an important part of the diet of polar bears. As to the relationship, and bears, and seals, along with walrus belong to the suborder of carnivores — dog-like family. Many millions of years ago some members of the bear family traded the land to the sea, gradually losing the characteristics of land animals. Closest to the bear’s ancient ancestors are eared seals — fur seals and sea lions. Actually, his name they received because of the presence of external ear — a sure sign of terrestrial origin.
