What do Koalas and Humans have in common?

Fingerprints. Koalas have fingerprints that are almost identical to human fingerprints. Like human prints, each individual koala’s fingerprint also has a unique pattern.

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WOW i love learning things like that,cheers Bretrick.

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When I was studying evolutionary biology in the 1990s, I discovered that mammals and marsupials split off from their common ancestor well over a 100 million years ago, yet we have such similar fingerprints.

I remember reading an article in the New Scientist which suggested that the Australian Police databases may even contain some unidentified fingerprints from crime scenes which come from Koalas, not humans! :rofl:

Biologists used to think that marsupials were an evolutionary stage between egg laying mammals and placental mammals, which give birth to their offspring fully formed.
We thought marsupials were more primitive in the evolutionary scale than animals which carried their offspring in the womb, being nurtured by the placenta until they were fully formed.
However, later research has discovered that it is the placental animals, like us, which is the less evolutionary altered in reproduction. Evidence now shows it is the marsupials which continued evolving from their placental mammal ancestors and it was their cycle of birth and reproduction which evolved further than ours.

It’s not fully understood why but it’s been suggested that the marsupial strategy is better if you’re living with a lot of environmental instability.
When mammals have a long gestation period, if conditions become harsh or food resources dry up or if there is a problem with the developing foetus and it dies, the Mother may likely die too.
With a marsupial, it’s a much lower risk for the mother because it gives birth at a very early developmental stage, so if the offspring doesn’t survive to become fully formed, at least the mother can survive and try again later.

Humans have a tendency to think we’re top of the evolutionary tree and the bee’s knees - but it’s not always so! :smiley:

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Really interesting. Thanks for sharing. I remember reading that zebra stripes are like fingerprints, no two are alike.

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Hi

Chlamydia ,the STI.

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They Hug Trees??

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could it be a large degree of stupidity?? - the koala population of oz is being dessimated due to de-forestation and they have not learned to adapt new leaf eating habits??

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I do not have fingerprints and as far as I know, I have never had them. It’s a rare condition going by the name of Adermatoglyphia and usually runs in families as it’s a genetic issue. One of my daughters also has the omission, but her children do not.

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could it be a large degree of stupidity?? - the koala population of oz is being dessimated due to de-forestation and they have not learned to adapt new leaf eating habits??

they climb up trees that are rapidly disappearing and look around with that larconic/bimused look they have as if they hadn’t a care in the world!!

There is a common trait!