Consider this:
Dionaea muscipula may have (probably has) been around for a very long time. And though the speculation that follows may seem far fetched, maybe it isn't far fetched enough. I'm sure many bizarre things have happened in this world to bring it to the state it is in today. I am not saying that I believe anything like my story that follows has ever happened to the VFT, but . . . who knows. I'm pretty sure that once upon a time there was not VFT, at least, not as we know it today. Something caused changes in what was --- and now we have VFTs.
1. Given that humans are curious creatures.
2. Given that even when living in harmony with nature we still make changes to "nature" that suit our beliefs.
3. Given that humans (American Indians) have been living in VFT territory for hundreds if not thousands of years before Caucasians even saw this territory where VFTs are known to now live.
What if, VFT had a more extensive territory before humans first set eyes on one, or what if, their territory was a hectare size bog behind village B. What if, the predominant trap form were "Fused Tooth" or "Bart Simpson" and for some superstitious reason these forms were considered evil and needed to be eliminated to purify "nature". Now hundreds or thousands of years later, they are the very rare forms, and what we consider "typical", may very well have once been the rare "mutations". If humans intervened to create the current situation or nature did it herself, who's to say. The "status quo" could even have been changed by the interactions of innumerable other factors -- and given that VFTs have been here for a very long time, what is "typical" today more than likely was not "typical" a thousand years ago.
Epilogue:
Variety may be the spice of life, but variety is the essence of nature and how she survives. Change may look out of place to us, but it is essential to the survival of everything, even us.
Dionaea muscipula may have (probably has) been around for a very long time. And though the speculation that follows may seem far fetched, maybe it isn't far fetched enough. I'm sure many bizarre things have happened in this world to bring it to the state it is in today. I am not saying that I believe anything like my story that follows has ever happened to the VFT, but . . . who knows. I'm pretty sure that once upon a time there was not VFT, at least, not as we know it today. Something caused changes in what was --- and now we have VFTs.
1. Given that humans are curious creatures.
2. Given that even when living in harmony with nature we still make changes to "nature" that suit our beliefs.
3. Given that humans (American Indians) have been living in VFT territory for hundreds if not thousands of years before Caucasians even saw this territory where VFTs are known to now live.
What if, VFT had a more extensive territory before humans first set eyes on one, or what if, their territory was a hectare size bog behind village B. What if, the predominant trap form were "Fused Tooth" or "Bart Simpson" and for some superstitious reason these forms were considered evil and needed to be eliminated to purify "nature". Now hundreds or thousands of years later, they are the very rare forms, and what we consider "typical", may very well have once been the rare "mutations". If humans intervened to create the current situation or nature did it herself, who's to say. The "status quo" could even have been changed by the interactions of innumerable other factors -- and given that VFTs have been here for a very long time, what is "typical" today more than likely was not "typical" a thousand years ago.
Epilogue:
Variety may be the spice of life, but variety is the essence of nature and how she survives. Change may look out of place to us, but it is essential to the survival of everything, even us.