On Thu, 19 May 2005, "Dylan" wrote:

Dylan writes: Point taken. Now can you give me an example - such as
long feelers - which might make blind cave fish more fit than their
cousins who are still sighted but have not evolved the feelers? I'm
suggesting feelers because while you (and others) have suggested
that the blind cave fish could well be better fitted because they
could transfer some of their energy budget away from
building/maintaining eyes to something else. The theory makes
sense. Any real-life examples? Any thought-experiment examples? I
learn best by contemplating real-life examples. Thanks.

Just a point of clarification, that "something else" doesn't have to
be a new feature. It could be stuff it needs to build anyway, such as
skin or scales or teeth or whatever. The point is that the sightless
fish needs less food and oxygen than it would if it had to support
eyes and visual areas of the brain, and the reduced requirements
themselves can be an advantage over an all-else-equal kind of fish.

--
Bobby Bryant
Austin, Texas