In nature, some animals have a pair of big horns on their heads, which look very awe-inspiring. Why are all horned herbivores? Why do carnivores have no horns.
Actually in prehistoric times, the carnivorous dinosaur also had horns. For example, oxsaurus had a pair of horns. This big carnivorous guy was 8 meters long, weighed about 3 tons, and had one horn. For horns like horns. The huge ceratopsaurus family are mostly herbivores. According to the traditional view, the exaggerated horns of herbivorous dinosaurs are weapons used to counter or dodge other carnivorous dinosaurs, but there are also paleontologists who believe that these exaggerated Angles are mostly used for courtship.
In modern mammals, carnivores are hornless, such as lions, tigers, cheetahs, etc. These large carnivores need to capture their prey, relying on sharp claws and sharp teeth At the same time, it also needs a fast enough running speed and the ability to hide enough to lurk near the prey. Obviously, horns are very redundant for carnivores that need these abilities, that is, they are not useful for fangs and claws, and they are not conducive to hiding and running. What's interesting is that the fangs of carnivores are hidden in their mouths, and their claws are hidden when they are not in use. They look cute on the outside, and only at the moment of hunting do they show their sharp edges.
Modern herbivorous mammals are not all horns. Species with horns have exaggerated and conspicuous horns, and they are all males. So why?
In the animal world, such scenes are often captured. A large group of antelopes are ambushed by a lion, and the antelopes flee collectively, leaving the old, weak, sick, and disabled by the lions. They become the lion’s delicious meal. Most of them will not actively resist carnivores. When their lives are hanging by a thread, they also use horns to interrupt the attack of predators in order to escape. More often, they use their powerful hind legs to kick the attacker. It can be seen that horns, as their weapons, have a very limited role in defense and attack. So from the perspective of biological evolution,What is the meaning of horns?
In some parts of our country, there is a very interesting entertainment activity, that is, fighting sheep. They are strong and have a pair of imposing horns. You die and live.
In nature, there are often such big scenes. In the season of courtship, the males will fight hard, the two corners will collide, the strong sense of strength, the sound of the impact, it sounds very painful. Such scenes are generally very visually impactful. Herbivores are generally polygamous, and within a population, the winner can get more mating rights.
Evolution is a process from simple to complex, from low-level to high-level. The so-called degradation is to degrade the functions that are not commonly used. This makes it easy to understand that carnivores have fangs and claws, which can be used to capture food or fight for mating rights. Carnivores do not use reproduction rate to ensure the reproduction of the population. It is normal without horns. NS. For some species with horns, horns are very important to them. In addition to being a defensive weapon, the more important role is to use it as a weapon when competing for territory and mates with similar species, and as a way to show off when looking for a mate. Capital, these populations need to reproduce excellent and strong genes to ensure the reproduction rate and the quality of offspring, so that the population can continue to reproduce. On the other hand, the horns of strong genes are dominant genes, so they are also It has been preserved from generation to generation.
Remember the previous question? Why only males have exaggerated horns, the answer is ready to come out, because the main role of horns is courtship and show off, females generally do not have such exaggerated horns.
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