Scientific banter

[okami_hu]

Picture: http://kweh-chan.deviantart.com/art/A-Study-of-Neimoidians-324752294

Banter could be read there, but I'll post it here, too.

OKami: This is great, considering the Duros are one of my fave species.

I found only one oddity. Duros lay eggs according to this study, whereas Neomidians give birth to live young, Yet, Neomidian mammary glands are devolved. Shouldn't it be the other way 'round...? Babies need their nutrition, whereas offspring in an egg essentially feeds on the egg's nutritious contents until it's ready to hatch, and by that time, its system is ready to accept regular food.

Kwen: I know, I found that strange too. Duros lay eggs according to Wookiepedia; however, I have another, very recent souce that may say otherwise back home. I'm currently on vactation, but I'm going to verify it in the next three weeks.

Don't forget, of course, that some mammals on earth do lay eggs AND lactate: echidnas and duck-billed platypus are two examples. Furthermore, some reptiles give birth to live young, but do no lactate, such as the boa constrictor. Neimoidians, despite giving birth to live young, do not raise them, instead putting them into grub hatcheries for the first seven years of life to weed out the weak from the strong - therefore, they literally have no need to lactate and feed their young.

OKami: That is true, but the exceptions don't make the rule; the rest does. =3 Since I haven't done research, I have no idea since when the Neimoidian culture flourishes as it is, but it'd take a lot of time for a social habit to directly affect a species' physiology. Evolution is a persistent thing.

Kwen: Neimoidia was colonised between 25000BBY and 22000BBY, and by 15000BBY, the inhabitants, the Neimoidians, were genetically distinct enough to be considered a different species (according to Star Wars canon) - that's not to say that they stopped evolving. Our own species, homo sapiens, has been evolving for over 200000 years, and has undergone both physical and behavioural changes since the point at which it could be classified as a separate species. I cannot say when the changes took place, I am only making deductions based upon the information at hand.

Why must something follow a specific rule according to what we have determined? There is too much that is undiscovered, including in our own planet and biology, to state definitively that something can or cannot be. And, again, we see in our own biology that there are exceptions to rules; regardless of whether or not an exeption makes or fits a rule, it exists and is therefore possible. That's, of course, saying nothing of specific adaptations to certain planetary or environmental conditions.

I based a lot of my deductions about their mammary glands based on a report I read recently about the development of the human breast. Compared to other mammals, humans constantly appear as though they are lactating (you can see this especially when compared to our closest primate relatives); however, their evolutions has stemmed not entirely from responses to environment and survival, but also from sexual attraction. In a great many parts of the world, breasts have developed into a part of human sexuality; a more virile or attractive partner, naturally speaking, has a greater chance of having offspring. Thus, the trait is passed down.