[Nitack]

Evolution before our very eyes?

YouTube - 4-Eared Cat - 2 Headed Turtle !

[Thunderbird]

No this kind of mutation would not be advantages. Longer ears maybe, but four ears no. It does look cool though. Devil cat !

[Nitack]

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

No this kind of mutation would not be advantages. Longer ears maybe, but four ears no. It does look cool though. Devil cat !

The potential for more acute hearing would not be advantageous?

[Pyrotex]

Originally Posted by Nitack

The potential for more acute hearing would not be advantageous?

Having four ears does not necessarily mean more acute hearing. How they're wired into the brain is everything. Maybe they actually interfere with each other and the cat's hearing is diminished with static, or beat frequency oscillations (BFO) or with "echo" distortion.

[Nitack]

Originally Posted by Pyrotex

Having four ears does not necessarily mean more acute hearing. How they're wired into the brain is everything. Maybe they actually interfere with each other and the cat's hearing is diminished with static, or beat frequency oscillations (BFO) or with "echo" distortion.

I did say having the potential. Besides, have we not had discussions about the development of such a complex biological device called the eye? That it probably started out with a few cells that had a rudimentary way to sense light and through refinements over thousands of years was able to become more and more useful. This ear may not even be wired at all, but like the development of our working ears, this might just be the first step. I saw one item that showed two cats from the same litter, both with four ears. That may indicate a genetic component.

[Thunderbird]

Originally Posted by Nitack

The potential for more acute hearing would not be advantageous?

More acute hearing would not come by 4 ears, the nervous system is not equipped to handle four separate signals, besides a major redundancy in bilateral systems would not improve the systems. This kind of redundant mutation is one of the most common and as evidenced by present vertebrate morphology is not an advantage.

[Thunderbird]

Originally Posted by Nitack

I did say having the potential. Besides, have we not had discussions about the development of such a complex biological device called the eye? That it probably started out with a few cells that had a rudimentary way to sense light and through refinements over thousands of years was able to become more and more useful. This ear may not even be wired at all, but like the development of our working ears, this might just be the first step. I saw one item that showed two cats from the same litter, both with four ears. That may indicate a genetic component.

Its a flaw in the hox gene nothing really new in the genetic info just one in the series is kicking on twice instead of once.

[Nitack]

Originally Posted by Thunderbird

More acute hearing would not come by 4 ears, the nervous system is not equipped to handle four separate signals, besides a major redundancy in bilateral systems would not improve the systems. This kind of redundant mutation is one of the most common and as evidenced by present vertebrate morphology is not an advantage.

hmmmmm... Front Right, Front Left, Back Right, Back Left... Surround sound? Not that it is the only beneficial direction that this particular mutation could take.

Four separate signals in the nervous system, lets get that restated correctly. The current nervous system is not equipped to handle four separate signals.

I am not saying that this IS evolution in action, only that it is possible. I think that to outright dismiss the possibility with out actually conducting any real observation or testing is a bit presumptive.

[Thunderbird]

Originally Posted by Nitack

hmmmmm... Front Right, Front Left, Back Right, Back Left... Surround sound? Not that it is the only beneficial direction that this particular mutation could take.

Four separate signals in the nervous system, lets get that restated correctly. The current nervous system is not equipped to handle four separate signals.

I am not saying that this IS evolution in action, only that it is possible. I think that to outright dismiss the possibility with out actually conducting any real observation or testing is a bit presumptive.

The evolution of bilateral vertebrate morphology has doing the experimenting for us. A few million times I would imagine. Its does not work. If it did you would have vertebrates with four ears all over the place.
Its a common mutation.

[freeztar]

I agree with Nitack and Pyro on this. If we do not know how the extra ears are functioning, we can make no definitive claims about the advantageousness, or lack thereof. Also, sometimes mutations are not found to be beneficial in one environment at a certain time, but this can change over time and with shifts in the environment.

It would be interesting to find out exactly how these ears are wired to the brain, if indeed they are at all. Until then, it's impossible to make any kind of definitive statement one way or the other.

Edit: I forgot to mention antagonisitc pleiotropy.