Ben Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette , like any good eighteenth-century document, makes liberal use of the "long s" -- the one that looks like an f -- amusingly in this case. The difference between a long s and an f is that the cross-stroke doesn't go all the way through.
Comments (9)
gree" ???? that makes no fenfe.
Still, fascinating creatures. I wonder how the complexity of adult mayflies compares to their larva... I know the adults only live long enough to mate, and do not even have time or energy to eat.
Nothing to do with evolution.
"Reverse evolution" is as much a misnomer as "reverse sexism" or "reverse racism".
Besides, the process in question here is not evolution in any case. It's a metamorphic change within one generation. It would be like referring to a caterpillar turning into a butterfly as evolution. It's just another stage of its life-cycle.
Having said that, it is an interesting metamorphic effect .
"Reverse evolution" is a reference to recapitulation theory, thought to have been outdated but a form of it is now making a comeback as we discover more fossils/evidence.
The evolution of certain organisms and their structures can sometimes be understood by observing the organisms devlopment. i.e. the growth of feathers on birds has shed light on how feathers evolved in dinosaurs.
This "reverse evolution" is a creature that for whatever reason found it advantageous to take on a simpler body structure in its adult life, the "blueprint" for which is found in a body form held by its ancestors. Technically there is no "reverse evolution", but its a suitable semantic tool to describe a real phenomenon.
"Technically there is no “reverse evolution”, but its a suitable semantic tool to describe a real phenomenon." What you say is correct, but its not a suitable semantic tool to describe THIS phenomenon.