Question

Based on what you know about the scientific method, choose an animal or plant and explain how you would determine which individuals in a population were best adapted to their environment. what evidence would you need and why? what characteristics would be evidence? is there a time frame that you would have to take into account? why or why not? cite your references.

Answer 1

The Laotian rock rat or kha-nyosometimes called the "rat-squirrel", is a rodent species of the Khammouan region of Laos. The species was first described in a 2005 article by Paulina Jenkins and coauthors, who considered the animal to be so distinct from all living rodents, they placed it in a new family, Laonastidae. In 2006, the classification of the Laotian rock rat was disputed by Mary Dawson and coauthors. Dawson and her colleagues suggested instead it belongs to the ancient fossil family Diatomyidae, that was thought to have been extinct for 11 million years, since the late Miocene. It would thereby represent a Lazarus species. The animals resemble large, dark rats with hairy, thick tails like those of a squirrel. Their skulls are very distinctive and have features that separate them from all other living mammals.