Eye Size Is Determined by Distance From the Equator

Eye Size is not accidental. It is determined by evolutionary factors. This is not so obvious today because in the twentieth century people moved to new countries in regions quite different from their place of origin.

Eye sockets were measured from 55 skulls of native people throughout the world. The skulls were in museum collections from the 1800s. Large eyes were synonymous with large craniums. The native population of Micronesia had the smallest eyes. Scandinavians had the largest. This is contrary to the belief that Africans have the largest eyes.

Eyes size is affected by the length of day and sun brightness. Bigger craniums were due to more brain allocation to sight. It did not make people smarter.

This finding must mean that being able to get about in low light was important for survival. Features important for survival until the age of reproduction are carried on to later generations. Some things, however, can remain in a population if they affect life after puberty, for example sickle cell anemia.

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Anthropology

New Seahorse and Coral Found in Australian Waters

Two new species have been found in Australia in the Coral Sea near the Barrier Reef. Atolls were explored by a team from the Queensland Museum and the University of Queensland. In the dark depths adjacent to the atolls a new pygmy seahorse and coral were found. They are not really new: they have always been there. The depths were surveyed with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

The seahorse, Hippocampus denise, is native to the Coral Sea of the Indo-West Pacific. It was not know to exist in Australian waters. The tiny seahorse usually lives in shallow water not at depths which sunlight does not reach. They may be going deeper to avoid damage to coral from climate change.

In regard to the new coral, Echinomorpha nishihirai, perhaps the larvae are safer in this zone. They could be acting as seeding areas to repopulate shallower zones. La Niña has damaged many of these. Many more new species are expected to be identified in the ongoing research.

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Science