Evolution at work? Craziest thing I've seen all day.

[Slimebeast]

highwaystar101 said:

Slimebeast said:

That's a highly misleading title of the article.

They're just retaining the eggs in their body until they crack. Cold weather triggers some hormone to regulate that, to keep the egg a couple of weeks longer. It's not evolution at work.

How is it not evolution? Those lizards that are better able to carry out the act of keeping their eggs in their body during cold weather will inevitably pass on that ability (or trait) to their offspring. If the environment remains cold for an extended period of time (i.e. many years), then each breeding period will yield lizards that are better at producing the hormones than the previous generation, as the ones that do it poorly will inevitably have trouble producing offspring.

eventually you end up with a bunch of lizards that are better equiped at reproducing in cold enviornments. Regardless of how small you would consider it, that is evolution at work.

You assume this and it's a nice theory but there's no evidence of that in the article.

The only mechanism needed to explain the observations presented in the article is the one I provided.

When it's hot you take your shirt off, when it's cold you keep it on.