691
Dream 🦕 Big (thelemmy.club)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 70 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Nearly all tetrapods have a laryngeal nerve that goes from the brain stem to the larynx, but doesn't go straight for the few inches, instead travelling down the neck to go around the aortic arch above the heart. It's a throwback to when we were ocean dwelling and had gills much closer to the heart.

In giraffes this nerve takes a 15 ft detour.

In something like a brachiosaurus which had a neck around 30 ft long, this would be a 60ft detour.

A great proof of evolution, of making do with what is there and adapting.

[-] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 22 points 3 months ago

Brachiosaurus wasn’t a mammal.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 55 points 3 months ago

Yes but a brachiosaurus is still a fish

[-] Klear@quokk.au 14 points 3 months ago

Hell yeah, fuck paraphyletic groups.

[-] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 14 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Correct. I'll change to Tetrapods.

[-] Photonic@lemmy.world 14 points 3 months ago

I wasn’t gonna say this but since you’re making changes anyway: the recurrent laryngeal nerve doesn’t go around the heart but around the aortic arch and the great arteries.

[-] Monument@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 3 months ago

Meh, I’ve seen better arteries.

this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2026
691 points (99.4% liked)

Science Memes

20629 readers
2486 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Meta Post Tags



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.


If you are here asking: "Is this a science meme?"

Probably, yes. We use the Dawkins definition of meme: a replicating idea, not just an image macro with a fact on it. A good post here doesn't need to teach you something. It needs to make you ask something: who, what, where, when, and especially why or how.

Science isn't a filing cabinet of facts, it's a conversation. For example, a photo of an eel or other localized wildlife counts because most people never see one, and wonder is the first step of inquiry. A car meme counts if it makes you curious about what's under the bonnet. If you want to talk about something you noticed in the world, chances are someone else wants to talk about it too.

We moderate for vibe, not category. Pruning is light, especially where a post creates interesting discussion. Experimenting is encouraged.

See the pinned paper on Shitposting as Public Pedagogy if you want the academic case for why this works.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS