How the Zebra Got Its Stripes

Interesting article by @Jerry_Coyne,

2 Likes

He got it from the tetse fly. :smile:

Why does a zebra have stripes? He was told that stripes are very slimming.

2 Likes

There it is. An empirically-testable hypothesis allowing us to understand something that happened in the past.

Why can’t @pnelson, @bjmiller, or @Agauger come up with a testable ID hypothesis?

1 Like

The original zebra populatioh had no stripes. But God created an original pair of zebras which had stripes. Genetical Zebraism. It is consistent with science because it cannot possibly be falsified by science.

As a YEC i disagree. I have read this before.
The zebra, VERY UNLIKELY:Y, got stripes to stop bugs.
maybe this can showcase creationist/evolutionist hunches.

The horse is a unique creature in the world. the only one we ride.
it is a creature whose safety is being on the move. Trot, walk, run.Adult/young.
this is how they survive ancient and present predation.they are powerless against their big opponents.
So on mere probability it would likely that stripes help preserve it from its greaest problems we know of. (before bug problems).
So investigation should start on whether stripes help preserve its existence.
I say YES. NO not camuflauge. any more then a skunk. Yet like a skunk its coloration is its protection.
The zebras running in herds vcan not save themselves. maybe alone always gallop away but not in close great herds.
What saves it IS that predators when rushing a herd, which runs, they cannot tell hind from hind. the stripes confuse them to give the Zebs a advantage.
This happens with african birds also by the way.
The stripes are to give a marginal curve of help in saving them. otherwise no zebra would survive and anyways nature never lets creatures to not defend themselves. its always a arms race of traits.

more evidence.
the young ones have different stripes when born. If bugs were the selection agency there would be no need for difference in kids.
Okapi has stripes on its back like zebras but not front. No one would say this is for bugs.
all horses, I understand, very easily can be born with stripes on the lower legs that indicate a original origin as Zebra like. Despite living in different areas of the world and with different bugs.

Wow. This is wild evolutionist speculation. Testing coats in britain or not.
There is no reason to leave the great common equaqtions of survival to the nlikely , unprecedented, option of creatures having coloration to stop bugs eating you.
I’m from canada and know bugs.

Therefore the horse/zebra in a post flood world after exploding in populations that herded together THEN only became striped to give a marginal advantage to survive predation on top of its unique movement ability. it could only run and that was not good enough.
The mechanism for stripes is well another topic.

dr coyne makes a mistake in saying the bugs thing is proved because other options are disproved. This is not scientific metyhodology. on the merits of your hypothjesis and not demerits of others. Just a little point.

the bigger point isv probability. the glory of creature attack/defence for survival greatly includes what its colours are. This would be the great direction for investigation.
When does bug problems affect ones body colours??
The zebra stripes for bugs is way out of probability and colors for running/hiding away is very common

This is a fail for evolutionist competence in explaining nature I think.
More then usual.
Cool topic here.A good one for AIG/ICR etc

Is it being touted as a scientific hypothesis?

1 Like

68 posts were split to a new topic: Tempting a Hypothesis from Gauger