Ticks, Hair Loss, and Non-Clinging Babies:
a Novel Tick-Based Hypothesis for the Evolutionary Divergence of Humans and Chimpanzees
Jeffrey G Brown 2021 Life 1(5), 435 doi org/10.3390/life11050435
Human straight-legged BPism represents one of the earliest events in the evol.split between Homo spp & Pan spp, although its selective basis is a mystery.
A carrying-related hypothesis has recently been proposed:
hominin hair-loss resulted in the inability of babies to cling to their mothers, requiring mothers to walk upright to carry their babies,
but what drove the hair-loss that resulted in upright walking?
Observers since Darwin have suggested: was our hair a defence against ticks?
This review proposes & evaluates a novel tick-based evol.hypothesis:
did forest fragmentation in hominin paleo-environments create conditions, favourable for tick proliferation, selecting for divergent anti-tick strategies:
- hair-loss in hominins?
- grooming behaviour in Pan?
Did these divergent anti-tick strategies result in different methods for carrying babies, driving the Homo/Pan locomotor divergence?
Ticks, Hair Loss, and Non-Clinging Babies:
a Novel Tick-Based Hypothesis for the Evolutionary Divergence of Humans and Chimpanzees
Jeffrey G Brown 2021 Life 1(5), 435 doi org/10.3390/life11050435
Another MD, "independent researcher", venturing outside his field,
just like you.
Another MD, "independent researcher", venturing outside his field
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