• Soup@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    “Almost all” means that if you pull six-legged animals names outnof a hat you’re nearly guaranteed to find an insect. Doesn’t mean you can’t pull the non-insect first try, and doesn’t mean that centaurs must be insects.

    • DeathsEmbrace@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      This bias is to biology only found in our experience. What if theres an alien physiology that ruins this argument.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        No alien species counts as an animal taxinomically. A similar extraterrestrial ecosystem would likely result in reclassifications to add planet of greatest ancestral origin. Life seeders would make taxonomy even harder.

      • _stranger_@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I’d argue centaur world is its own tree of life until proof exists that earth life and centaur world life had a common ancestor.

      • Naz@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        sigh Okay scientist, you can look at my dragon dick

        … For science

        “Wait, what’s the mould for?”

    • ryedaft@sh.itjust.works
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      4 days ago

      They’d still be an arthropod even if they weren’t a species of insect. So I guess the question is whether all six-legged arthropods have ovipositors. Sounds likely.