RE: All this flying talk---then comes the why..or something

["Curtis B. Olson" <olson_c@mediasoft.net>]

On Wednesday, April 15, 1998 9:16 PM, DinosOMP [SMTP:padron@online.no] wrote:
> Curtis B. Olson wrote:
> > Extant "flying" frogs of the genus Rhacophorus glide from tree to tree.
> > Escaping danger is just a one benefit of this adaptation.  It also allows
> > mating animals to glide to each other's tree, and be there first.
>
> But I suppose the frogs adapted flying FIRST to avoid danger, THEN they found
> out that
> it was fun to play whith the flying abilities.

Why are you making that supposition?  Consider: they glide for mating reasons 
on a regular, periodic basis, every mating season.  Gliding to escape occurs 
without frequency (i.e., infrequently).  Do adaptations evolve to deal with 
regular behaviour, or random events?
--
Curtis Olson
Hamilton VA
olson_c@mediasoft.net

"But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it?"
  - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy