The reason mammals can get pregnant is due to a virus (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

It is believed that the reason mammals can get pregnant is due to an ancient retrovirus. This virus infected the host. Eventually the host was able to then steal a gene that allows them to make a placenta, extremely important for birthing live young. And eventually, animals evolved that could be pregnant instead of laying an egg.

 

[Ahsoka]

General facts:
@athenarose @Lexie @Nyaz @Dreamer_of_Songs @Michael @Nina @pinkmelodies @velvet @CoCoM3L0N @ChuuAntics @Moguri @rayhere @Harmony_Starz @PinkJin92

 

[dark_tranquility]

that sounds like a nightmare and a half

 

[StirFriedPanda]

So what your saying is the earth is suffering from a human infection... Kind of hard to argue...

 

[Somnia]

Now the real question is, which mammal is the one who first got to experience laying live babies due to this mutation?
It happened million of years ago so I guess some kind of rodent like creature.

 

[ChiaraStar169]

I'm with @Somnia - wehich animal was the first to get pregnant?

 

[Ahsoka]

Now the real question is, which mammal is the one who first got to experience laying live babies due to this mutation?
It happened million of years ago so I guess some kind of rodent like creature.

I'm with @Somnia - wehich animal was the first to get pregnant?

The first mammal to give live birth is a bit of a complicated question. The issue is that it’s pretty hard to trace because embryos don’t fossilize well. Additionally, there are different categories of live birth, with some showing less of the characteristics of a modern placental mammal but still having the ability to have live births. Regardless, live births were already present regardless in some reptiles and fish before any mammal that could be a placental mammal existed, but they used a different biological function to do so. So theirs was unrelated to the retrovirus.

 

[TrinityJade]

Interesting...

 

[ChiaraStar169]

The first mammal to give live birth is a bit of a complicated question. The issue is that it’s pretty hard to trace because embryos don’t fossilize well. Additionally, there are different categories of live birth, with some showing less of the characteristics of a modern placental mammal but still having the ability to have live births. Regardless, live births were already present regardless in some reptiles and fish before any mammal that could be a placental mammal existed, but they used a different biological function to do so. So theirs was unrelated to the retrovirus.

whoa...

 

[Ahsoka]

whoa...

Yeah, sometimes things evolve completely independently in different ways. There are still snakes, fish, invertebrates, and so on that have live births. But mammals are known for it more because a higher proportion of mammals have live births than others

 

[Nina]

So you're saying, we could have just laid a follicle sized egg if it weren't for this virus....

 

[ChiaraStar169]

So you're saying, we could have just laid a follicle sized egg if it weren't for this virus....

that's a crazy thought indeed!

 

[Moguri]

 

[Ahsoka]

So you're saying, we could have just laid a follicle sized egg if it weren't for this virus....

that's a crazy thought indeed!

You’d actually lay a baby human sized egg

 

[Selfmate]

So what your saying is the earth is suffering from a human infection... Kind of hard to argue...

more pandas less humans?

 

[StirFriedPanda]

more pandas less humans?

Each Panda needs atleast a dozen slaves.

 

[Selfmate]

Each Panda needs atleast a dozen slaves.

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