Evolutions Craziest Creations
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Creatures evolve to fit the environment around them, rather than to be pretty or intelligent.
Some, though, are downright baffling. It’s easy to understand how scientists might have misclassified one particular species of primate - the aye-aye - as a squirrel, or why even Charles Darwin might have been so revolted by one “disgusting, clumsy lizard” that he christened it the “imp of darkness”.
From a sex-obsessed ape that’s our closest living relative on Earth, to a tree lobster which was miraculously resurrected after 80 years of ‘extinction’, the animals below all posed puzzles for scientists as to how exactly they came to be.
Tree lobster
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The six legged ‘tree lobster’ - Dryococelus australis - lives on the sides of a forbiddingly tall rock, Ball’s Pyramid, near Howe Island off the coast of Australia.
It had been thought to be extinct. None had been seen on nearby Lord Howe Island since 1920 - but researchers climbed the rock, found 24 survivors and brought the species back from the brink. Oddly, similar bizarre tree-dwellers can be found on New Guinea and New Caledonia - but the species are completely unrelated, having evolved separately.
Despite their resemblance to the familiar undersea delicacy, the 4in long ‘lobsters’ are actually the heaviest flightless stick insect in the world.
Narwhal
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Narwhal have been described as ‘sea unicorns’ thanks to their large single ‘horn’. Viking traders sold this as being unicorn horn, and could fetch many times its weight in gold.
Claims of magical powers, were, of course, false - but the nine-foot tusk is a miracle of evolution, with 10 million nerve pathways, which help narwhals detect changes in temperature, pressure and salinity in the water around them, helping them to survive in their Arctic environment.
Being able to detect changes in salt concentration allows narwhals to track the fish they need to survive, according to a team of scientists from universities including Harvard and the Smithsonian, who examined a tusk using both infrared microspectroscopy and scanningelectron microscopy.
Bonobo
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Like chimpanzees, bonobos share 98% of their genome with humans, and are considered our joint-closest relatives on this planet. However, the gentle creatures are very, very different to chimpanzees, despite having evolved surrounded by them.
Humans might think they have a monopoly on recreational sex, but bonobos wrote the book. Orgies, homosexual relationships (particularly between females) and frequent sex are a staple part of bonobo life.
The creatures can also do ‘human’ acts such as sharing food - something only mankind was thought to do voluntarily. Unlike chimpanzees - and humans - they are also gentle, never exhibiting lethal aggression against other bonobos.
It’s thought that our gentle animal cousin’s distinctive behaviour evolved around 2.5 million years ago, when two populations of chimps, separated by the Zaire river, endured a drought that wiped out local gorillas. South of the river, the gorillas did not return, enabling the chimpanzees to go on eating without having to fight for their food. Those chimpanzees went on to become bonobos.
Aye-aye
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Maurice in the animated Madagascar films might look like the creation of an animator’s fevered mind - but the aye-aye is very real, and poses several evolutionary puzzles.
The endangered species is now thought to be a primate, related to lemurs - but its constantly growing teeth meant that it was first thought to be a relative of squirrels.
Found largely on the east coast of Madagascar, the nocturnal creature has several distinctive features, including a lengthened middle finger, used to dig grubs out of trees.
Aye-ayes still pose questions today. A team of researchers from Biodesign institute recently found that the animals still had genes for colour vision - despite only being active at night.
“If you are an animal that lives at night, do you need colour vision?” asks Biodesign Institute scientist George Perry. His research showed that lemurs seemed still to have the capacity for it - despite a lifestyle that seemingly didn’t require it.
Marine iguana
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On his journey to the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin seems to have been revolted by the marine iguana. It’s a unique lizard that appears to have ‘reversed’ evolution, as the four-legged creature can live and find food in the sea.
It is the only modern lizard to do so.
“The black Lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large, disgusting clumsy Lizards,” Darwin wrote in his diary. “They are as black as the porous rocks over which they crawl & seek their prey from the Sea. I call them 'imps of darkness'. “
The unique creatures still pose puzzles for researchers today. Princeton University researchers found that females of the species will actually risk their lives to pick an appealing mate.
The Princeton team says that understanding this process of choosing a mate could throw light on sexual selection - one of the primary forces behind evolution.
