evolution happens through small changes right? but like, how did we get birds?
like we start with the single celled fish. then it becomes the multi-many-much celled fish. then the fish’s fins turn to legs and the fish starts climbing trees and all the sudden BAM WE’RE FLYIN BOYS!!!!!
like how do you just evolve wings? i thought stuff evolved because of subtle changes that gave the animal an advantage.
like, this fish had a slighter better tail for swimming.
or, this monkey had slightly longer fingernails for opening bananas.
and this weird beaked thingy had slightly more frickin pairs of wings so that it could yeet itself through the skies.
that’s weird!
of course, some birds evolved into other things. like how some ducks saw a beaver and were like “that’s cool” and now we have platypus’s.
that’s how evolution works sometimes maybe perhaps. animals see something and wanna be like it, so through hard work and lots of believing in themselves they become it. like when horses saw industrial cranes and became giraffes.
or like when birds saw bowling pins and became penguins.
or like when blob fish saw politicians and became Donald Trump.
nature is marvelous isn’t it?
Chris HemsWORTH IT!!! 
I finally understand how evolution works. Thank you.
LikeLike
I can explain if you want? It’s actually not that complicated if you want to hear about it
LikeLike
i am such a geek and i would be totally onboard to here bout dis
LikeLike
As a disclaimer, I am not a biologist or paleontologist, or, in short, anyone qualified to talk about evolution. I’m just a nerd goat, going off her memory.
Feather and scales are genetically basically the same thing. Especially early feathers are a lot like scales. (See the different stages of feathers — stage 1 feathers are basically just elongated scales that have become quills.)
Feathers, then, are easy to produce from a genetic mutation for animals like Dinosaurians who have scales. This mutation may have been selected for and thus passed on for a few useful reasons.
First: feathers help insulate an animals. Dinosaurs may have been warm blooded; they certainly were no cold blooded. They did not possess fur as an insulation like mammals developed, but these early feathers could have served a similar purpose.
Second: display! Feathers look gorgeous, I think we can all agree. Many dinosaurs today use their feathers to attract mates. (Peafowl are the obvious examples, though Quetzals and Birds of Paradise also do this). They also bulk up the size you take up. Dinosaurs look much smaller and thus much less intimidating, or easier prey, when you take off their feathers.
Third: speed. As feathers developed to be more similar to those we see on most dinosaurs today, certain species began to use them to help with their agility. Velociraptors may have used the feathers on their arms to help propel them up steep inclines, for example, which is a technique still used by flightless (or mostly flightless) dinosaurs today, such as chickens.
And by now the feathers were nearly developed to use for gliding. Dinosaurs were still too heavy to take off, but those such as Microraptor found their feathers a tool they could use to glide between trees. Eventually feather use like this developed into what some could consider the first bird, Archæopteryx, whose descendants perfected the technique of flight.
Hopefully that makes sense! I can answer follow up questions if you have them.
LikeLike
i have a question. did dinosaurs ever look at a lizard and just think “oh now this is adorable. its so small! its like me except pocket sized and scared of everything. welp, geuss ill eat it anyway.”
LikeLike
hear*
LikeLike