Comment on Nails are just vestigial claws.
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 2 weeks agoCorrect. A vestigial structure however is one that is no longer needed and are greatly diminished but are retained anyway because there’s little selective pressure against it. It need not be completely useless, but fingernails serve multiple legitimately important functions in humans and thus aren’t vestigial.
Dasus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I mean… evolution can “repurpose” things. So the thing it was before isn’t needed and it’s capacity to do what it did is greatly diminished. Ie we couldn’t claw food or earth really even, so our nails would not qualify as claws as much as they once must have been similar to what rodents have.
I do take your point though, as in “vestigial” referring to an organ or a part of anatomy which hasn’t got a purpose. And nails still serve purposes that claws might as well, like prying open nuts or some such basic stuff.
But if we discard the manipulation abilities we have on our forelimbs and only consider toenails, what then? Would you consider toenails vestigial claws?
Dasus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Also I notice I start all my comments with “I mean…” and it’s kinda futile.
(I had a glass of wine for breakfast.)
Damage@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
“in my opinion” would be a better alternative
OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
“Listen up bitches” works too