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Giant Velvet Worm
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Would it be possible to have a giant velvet worm? Not huge but big, like the size of a small dog, 20 kilograms?
reality-check biology
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
Would it be possible to have a giant velvet worm? Not huge but big, like the size of a small dog, 20 kilograms?
reality-check biology
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
1
Are you trying to figure out if it is possible, or how it could have evolved? I don't see a reason why that couldn't happen, but it sounds unrealistic.
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 14:53
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
Would it be possible to have a giant velvet worm? Not huge but big, like the size of a small dog, 20 kilograms?
reality-check biology
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
Would it be possible to have a giant velvet worm? Not huge but big, like the size of a small dog, 20 kilograms?
reality-check biology
reality-check biology
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
edited Sep 9 at 20:45
user53220
8051621
8051621
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
asked Sep 9 at 14:42
The Imperial
5319
5319
1
Are you trying to figure out if it is possible, or how it could have evolved? I don't see a reason why that couldn't happen, but it sounds unrealistic.
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 14:53
add a comment |Â
1
Are you trying to figure out if it is possible, or how it could have evolved? I don't see a reason why that couldn't happen, but it sounds unrealistic.
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 14:53
1
1
Are you trying to figure out if it is possible, or how it could have evolved? I don't see a reason why that couldn't happen, but it sounds unrealistic.
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 14:53
Are you trying to figure out if it is possible, or how it could have evolved? I don't see a reason why that couldn't happen, but it sounds unrealistic.
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 14:53
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
11
down vote
There are two major issues with scaling up a velvet worm: mechanical support, and oxygen transport.
Coconut crabs can get to be as large as a small dog, so clearly invertebrates with open circulatory systems as a general category can get that big, even in the current atmosphere. But crabs have some advantages over the much simpler velvet worms; for one, they have a rigid skeleton (usually considered a problem for scaling up invertebrates, but at this scale, its an advantage, as it would prevent the worm's flesh from simply collapsing into a blob); for another, they have a heart to assist in circulation. Velvet worms, on the other hand, have strictly hydrostatic skeletal support, and rely entirely on diffusion for oxygen transport.
So, now the question becomes "as big as a small dog in which dimensions"? If you just want it to be as massive as a small dog, that's not a problem--just make it really long. All of its tissues will be near the skin, so oxygen transport isn't a problem, and it won't be supporting much weight above the ground, so it won't smush itself.
Scaling up the body diameter is a harder problem, but the combination of structural support and oxygen transport issues might actually help solve each other. If the worm develops muscles capable of compressing the body wall laterally, it may be able to increase and decrease the internal pressure in particular segments to alternate between a flattened-out, gravity-dominated profile and a more circular, taller, pressure-supported profile. That won't work at arbitrary large sizes--eventually, muscles just can't be strong enough anymore!--but it should be fine for something with the diameter of a small dog's torso. And the alternation in shape would also serve to mix the haemolymph to improve oxygen transport. Even so, it will probably be a fairly lethargic creature, so as to minimize oxygen demands.
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
1
Coconut crabs don't have trachea they actually have a primitive form of luing. And there circulatory system is far closer to a closed system than an open one, its actually one of the most complex circulatory system in arthropods. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15683568 It is a really bad comparison
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
I dug around. The largest velvet worm found is 22 cm. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1511.00983.pdf
That is about the size of the largest terrestrial slug and largest terrestrial leech - animals not closely related but with a similar body plan. One exception for worm/caterpillar/sluglike terrestrial organisms: the Gippsland Giant earthworm which measures from 1 to 3 meters.
I am not attaching link to source because site of origin is doing sketchy stuff.
It is strange to me that the Gippsland worm is such an outlier, an order of magnitude larger than other soft bodied terrestrial organisms. I wonder if it uses the surrounding earth to support it in the way aquatic organisms do. These worms never look too lively in pictures.
Your dog sized velvet worm could be similar - maybe a predator inhabiting the burrows of something larger like the Gippsland worm or vertebrate burrowers.
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
annelid worms have a completely different circulatory system than velvet worms. the former uses a closed system the latter uses an open one.
– John
2 days ago
@John - the similarity is that both creatures (and also slugs) are elongate, land animals without endoskeletons or hard exoskeletons. The physics governing what is possible for this form seems cross applicable. But if you think the closed worm circulatory system allows a larger body size, please expand on that. That would be something new to me.
– Willk
2 days ago
closed systems are far more efficient because it is pressurized thus blood is circulated much faster, which allows it to both extract and deliver oxygen more efficiently.
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Not in the current atmosphere, their breathing mechanism (trachea) and circulatory system (open) do not scale up well, it is the same reason we don't have large insects. Larger animals need have more complex and efficient breathing and circulation than velvet worms have to get enough oxygen out of the current atmosphere. During the carboniferous however oxygen levels were much higher so you did get insects almost as big as us, so a velvet worm that size would be no problem with a different atmosphere.
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
Don't humans have tracheas?
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 18:20
2
> The word "trachea" is used to define a very different organ in invertebrates than in vertebrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea#Invertebrates
– Scott Centoni
Sep 9 at 19:22
@ScottCentoni OK, I was thinking of the wrong trachea.
– John Locke
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
11
down vote
There are two major issues with scaling up a velvet worm: mechanical support, and oxygen transport.
Coconut crabs can get to be as large as a small dog, so clearly invertebrates with open circulatory systems as a general category can get that big, even in the current atmosphere. But crabs have some advantages over the much simpler velvet worms; for one, they have a rigid skeleton (usually considered a problem for scaling up invertebrates, but at this scale, its an advantage, as it would prevent the worm's flesh from simply collapsing into a blob); for another, they have a heart to assist in circulation. Velvet worms, on the other hand, have strictly hydrostatic skeletal support, and rely entirely on diffusion for oxygen transport.
So, now the question becomes "as big as a small dog in which dimensions"? If you just want it to be as massive as a small dog, that's not a problem--just make it really long. All of its tissues will be near the skin, so oxygen transport isn't a problem, and it won't be supporting much weight above the ground, so it won't smush itself.
Scaling up the body diameter is a harder problem, but the combination of structural support and oxygen transport issues might actually help solve each other. If the worm develops muscles capable of compressing the body wall laterally, it may be able to increase and decrease the internal pressure in particular segments to alternate between a flattened-out, gravity-dominated profile and a more circular, taller, pressure-supported profile. That won't work at arbitrary large sizes--eventually, muscles just can't be strong enough anymore!--but it should be fine for something with the diameter of a small dog's torso. And the alternation in shape would also serve to mix the haemolymph to improve oxygen transport. Even so, it will probably be a fairly lethargic creature, so as to minimize oxygen demands.
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
1
Coconut crabs don't have trachea they actually have a primitive form of luing. And there circulatory system is far closer to a closed system than an open one, its actually one of the most complex circulatory system in arthropods. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15683568 It is a really bad comparison
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
11
down vote
There are two major issues with scaling up a velvet worm: mechanical support, and oxygen transport.
Coconut crabs can get to be as large as a small dog, so clearly invertebrates with open circulatory systems as a general category can get that big, even in the current atmosphere. But crabs have some advantages over the much simpler velvet worms; for one, they have a rigid skeleton (usually considered a problem for scaling up invertebrates, but at this scale, its an advantage, as it would prevent the worm's flesh from simply collapsing into a blob); for another, they have a heart to assist in circulation. Velvet worms, on the other hand, have strictly hydrostatic skeletal support, and rely entirely on diffusion for oxygen transport.
So, now the question becomes "as big as a small dog in which dimensions"? If you just want it to be as massive as a small dog, that's not a problem--just make it really long. All of its tissues will be near the skin, so oxygen transport isn't a problem, and it won't be supporting much weight above the ground, so it won't smush itself.
Scaling up the body diameter is a harder problem, but the combination of structural support and oxygen transport issues might actually help solve each other. If the worm develops muscles capable of compressing the body wall laterally, it may be able to increase and decrease the internal pressure in particular segments to alternate between a flattened-out, gravity-dominated profile and a more circular, taller, pressure-supported profile. That won't work at arbitrary large sizes--eventually, muscles just can't be strong enough anymore!--but it should be fine for something with the diameter of a small dog's torso. And the alternation in shape would also serve to mix the haemolymph to improve oxygen transport. Even so, it will probably be a fairly lethargic creature, so as to minimize oxygen demands.
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
1
Coconut crabs don't have trachea they actually have a primitive form of luing. And there circulatory system is far closer to a closed system than an open one, its actually one of the most complex circulatory system in arthropods. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15683568 It is a really bad comparison
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
11
down vote
up vote
11
down vote
There are two major issues with scaling up a velvet worm: mechanical support, and oxygen transport.
Coconut crabs can get to be as large as a small dog, so clearly invertebrates with open circulatory systems as a general category can get that big, even in the current atmosphere. But crabs have some advantages over the much simpler velvet worms; for one, they have a rigid skeleton (usually considered a problem for scaling up invertebrates, but at this scale, its an advantage, as it would prevent the worm's flesh from simply collapsing into a blob); for another, they have a heart to assist in circulation. Velvet worms, on the other hand, have strictly hydrostatic skeletal support, and rely entirely on diffusion for oxygen transport.
So, now the question becomes "as big as a small dog in which dimensions"? If you just want it to be as massive as a small dog, that's not a problem--just make it really long. All of its tissues will be near the skin, so oxygen transport isn't a problem, and it won't be supporting much weight above the ground, so it won't smush itself.
Scaling up the body diameter is a harder problem, but the combination of structural support and oxygen transport issues might actually help solve each other. If the worm develops muscles capable of compressing the body wall laterally, it may be able to increase and decrease the internal pressure in particular segments to alternate between a flattened-out, gravity-dominated profile and a more circular, taller, pressure-supported profile. That won't work at arbitrary large sizes--eventually, muscles just can't be strong enough anymore!--but it should be fine for something with the diameter of a small dog's torso. And the alternation in shape would also serve to mix the haemolymph to improve oxygen transport. Even so, it will probably be a fairly lethargic creature, so as to minimize oxygen demands.
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
There are two major issues with scaling up a velvet worm: mechanical support, and oxygen transport.
Coconut crabs can get to be as large as a small dog, so clearly invertebrates with open circulatory systems as a general category can get that big, even in the current atmosphere. But crabs have some advantages over the much simpler velvet worms; for one, they have a rigid skeleton (usually considered a problem for scaling up invertebrates, but at this scale, its an advantage, as it would prevent the worm's flesh from simply collapsing into a blob); for another, they have a heart to assist in circulation. Velvet worms, on the other hand, have strictly hydrostatic skeletal support, and rely entirely on diffusion for oxygen transport.
So, now the question becomes "as big as a small dog in which dimensions"? If you just want it to be as massive as a small dog, that's not a problem--just make it really long. All of its tissues will be near the skin, so oxygen transport isn't a problem, and it won't be supporting much weight above the ground, so it won't smush itself.
Scaling up the body diameter is a harder problem, but the combination of structural support and oxygen transport issues might actually help solve each other. If the worm develops muscles capable of compressing the body wall laterally, it may be able to increase and decrease the internal pressure in particular segments to alternate between a flattened-out, gravity-dominated profile and a more circular, taller, pressure-supported profile. That won't work at arbitrary large sizes--eventually, muscles just can't be strong enough anymore!--but it should be fine for something with the diameter of a small dog's torso. And the alternation in shape would also serve to mix the haemolymph to improve oxygen transport. Even so, it will probably be a fairly lethargic creature, so as to minimize oxygen demands.
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
edited 2 days ago
James K
8,5421641
8,5421641
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
answered Sep 9 at 15:24
Logan R. Kearsley
8,98312747
8,98312747
1
Coconut crabs don't have trachea they actually have a primitive form of luing. And there circulatory system is far closer to a closed system than an open one, its actually one of the most complex circulatory system in arthropods. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15683568 It is a really bad comparison
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
1
Coconut crabs don't have trachea they actually have a primitive form of luing. And there circulatory system is far closer to a closed system than an open one, its actually one of the most complex circulatory system in arthropods. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15683568 It is a really bad comparison
– John
2 days ago
1
1
Coconut crabs don't have trachea they actually have a primitive form of luing. And there circulatory system is far closer to a closed system than an open one, its actually one of the most complex circulatory system in arthropods. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15683568 It is a really bad comparison
– John
2 days ago
Coconut crabs don't have trachea they actually have a primitive form of luing. And there circulatory system is far closer to a closed system than an open one, its actually one of the most complex circulatory system in arthropods. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15683568 It is a really bad comparison
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
I dug around. The largest velvet worm found is 22 cm. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1511.00983.pdf
That is about the size of the largest terrestrial slug and largest terrestrial leech - animals not closely related but with a similar body plan. One exception for worm/caterpillar/sluglike terrestrial organisms: the Gippsland Giant earthworm which measures from 1 to 3 meters.
I am not attaching link to source because site of origin is doing sketchy stuff.
It is strange to me that the Gippsland worm is such an outlier, an order of magnitude larger than other soft bodied terrestrial organisms. I wonder if it uses the surrounding earth to support it in the way aquatic organisms do. These worms never look too lively in pictures.
Your dog sized velvet worm could be similar - maybe a predator inhabiting the burrows of something larger like the Gippsland worm or vertebrate burrowers.
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
annelid worms have a completely different circulatory system than velvet worms. the former uses a closed system the latter uses an open one.
– John
2 days ago
@John - the similarity is that both creatures (and also slugs) are elongate, land animals without endoskeletons or hard exoskeletons. The physics governing what is possible for this form seems cross applicable. But if you think the closed worm circulatory system allows a larger body size, please expand on that. That would be something new to me.
– Willk
2 days ago
closed systems are far more efficient because it is pressurized thus blood is circulated much faster, which allows it to both extract and deliver oxygen more efficiently.
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
I dug around. The largest velvet worm found is 22 cm. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1511.00983.pdf
That is about the size of the largest terrestrial slug and largest terrestrial leech - animals not closely related but with a similar body plan. One exception for worm/caterpillar/sluglike terrestrial organisms: the Gippsland Giant earthworm which measures from 1 to 3 meters.
I am not attaching link to source because site of origin is doing sketchy stuff.
It is strange to me that the Gippsland worm is such an outlier, an order of magnitude larger than other soft bodied terrestrial organisms. I wonder if it uses the surrounding earth to support it in the way aquatic organisms do. These worms never look too lively in pictures.
Your dog sized velvet worm could be similar - maybe a predator inhabiting the burrows of something larger like the Gippsland worm or vertebrate burrowers.
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
annelid worms have a completely different circulatory system than velvet worms. the former uses a closed system the latter uses an open one.
– John
2 days ago
@John - the similarity is that both creatures (and also slugs) are elongate, land animals without endoskeletons or hard exoskeletons. The physics governing what is possible for this form seems cross applicable. But if you think the closed worm circulatory system allows a larger body size, please expand on that. That would be something new to me.
– Willk
2 days ago
closed systems are far more efficient because it is pressurized thus blood is circulated much faster, which allows it to both extract and deliver oxygen more efficiently.
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
up vote
6
down vote
I dug around. The largest velvet worm found is 22 cm. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1511.00983.pdf
That is about the size of the largest terrestrial slug and largest terrestrial leech - animals not closely related but with a similar body plan. One exception for worm/caterpillar/sluglike terrestrial organisms: the Gippsland Giant earthworm which measures from 1 to 3 meters.
I am not attaching link to source because site of origin is doing sketchy stuff.
It is strange to me that the Gippsland worm is such an outlier, an order of magnitude larger than other soft bodied terrestrial organisms. I wonder if it uses the surrounding earth to support it in the way aquatic organisms do. These worms never look too lively in pictures.
Your dog sized velvet worm could be similar - maybe a predator inhabiting the burrows of something larger like the Gippsland worm or vertebrate burrowers.
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
I dug around. The largest velvet worm found is 22 cm. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1511.00983.pdf
That is about the size of the largest terrestrial slug and largest terrestrial leech - animals not closely related but with a similar body plan. One exception for worm/caterpillar/sluglike terrestrial organisms: the Gippsland Giant earthworm which measures from 1 to 3 meters.
I am not attaching link to source because site of origin is doing sketchy stuff.
It is strange to me that the Gippsland worm is such an outlier, an order of magnitude larger than other soft bodied terrestrial organisms. I wonder if it uses the surrounding earth to support it in the way aquatic organisms do. These worms never look too lively in pictures.
Your dog sized velvet worm could be similar - maybe a predator inhabiting the burrows of something larger like the Gippsland worm or vertebrate burrowers.
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
edited yesterday
ArtificialSoul
4,5881339
4,5881339
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
Willk
86.5k22171375
86.5k22171375
annelid worms have a completely different circulatory system than velvet worms. the former uses a closed system the latter uses an open one.
– John
2 days ago
@John - the similarity is that both creatures (and also slugs) are elongate, land animals without endoskeletons or hard exoskeletons. The physics governing what is possible for this form seems cross applicable. But if you think the closed worm circulatory system allows a larger body size, please expand on that. That would be something new to me.
– Willk
2 days ago
closed systems are far more efficient because it is pressurized thus blood is circulated much faster, which allows it to both extract and deliver oxygen more efficiently.
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
annelid worms have a completely different circulatory system than velvet worms. the former uses a closed system the latter uses an open one.
– John
2 days ago
@John - the similarity is that both creatures (and also slugs) are elongate, land animals without endoskeletons or hard exoskeletons. The physics governing what is possible for this form seems cross applicable. But if you think the closed worm circulatory system allows a larger body size, please expand on that. That would be something new to me.
– Willk
2 days ago
closed systems are far more efficient because it is pressurized thus blood is circulated much faster, which allows it to both extract and deliver oxygen more efficiently.
– John
2 days ago
annelid worms have a completely different circulatory system than velvet worms. the former uses a closed system the latter uses an open one.
– John
2 days ago
annelid worms have a completely different circulatory system than velvet worms. the former uses a closed system the latter uses an open one.
– John
2 days ago
@John - the similarity is that both creatures (and also slugs) are elongate, land animals without endoskeletons or hard exoskeletons. The physics governing what is possible for this form seems cross applicable. But if you think the closed worm circulatory system allows a larger body size, please expand on that. That would be something new to me.
– Willk
2 days ago
@John - the similarity is that both creatures (and also slugs) are elongate, land animals without endoskeletons or hard exoskeletons. The physics governing what is possible for this form seems cross applicable. But if you think the closed worm circulatory system allows a larger body size, please expand on that. That would be something new to me.
– Willk
2 days ago
closed systems are far more efficient because it is pressurized thus blood is circulated much faster, which allows it to both extract and deliver oxygen more efficiently.
– John
2 days ago
closed systems are far more efficient because it is pressurized thus blood is circulated much faster, which allows it to both extract and deliver oxygen more efficiently.
– John
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Not in the current atmosphere, their breathing mechanism (trachea) and circulatory system (open) do not scale up well, it is the same reason we don't have large insects. Larger animals need have more complex and efficient breathing and circulation than velvet worms have to get enough oxygen out of the current atmosphere. During the carboniferous however oxygen levels were much higher so you did get insects almost as big as us, so a velvet worm that size would be no problem with a different atmosphere.
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
Don't humans have tracheas?
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 18:20
2
> The word "trachea" is used to define a very different organ in invertebrates than in vertebrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea#Invertebrates
– Scott Centoni
Sep 9 at 19:22
@ScottCentoni OK, I was thinking of the wrong trachea.
– John Locke
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Not in the current atmosphere, their breathing mechanism (trachea) and circulatory system (open) do not scale up well, it is the same reason we don't have large insects. Larger animals need have more complex and efficient breathing and circulation than velvet worms have to get enough oxygen out of the current atmosphere. During the carboniferous however oxygen levels were much higher so you did get insects almost as big as us, so a velvet worm that size would be no problem with a different atmosphere.
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
Don't humans have tracheas?
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 18:20
2
> The word "trachea" is used to define a very different organ in invertebrates than in vertebrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea#Invertebrates
– Scott Centoni
Sep 9 at 19:22
@ScottCentoni OK, I was thinking of the wrong trachea.
– John Locke
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Not in the current atmosphere, their breathing mechanism (trachea) and circulatory system (open) do not scale up well, it is the same reason we don't have large insects. Larger animals need have more complex and efficient breathing and circulation than velvet worms have to get enough oxygen out of the current atmosphere. During the carboniferous however oxygen levels were much higher so you did get insects almost as big as us, so a velvet worm that size would be no problem with a different atmosphere.
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
Not in the current atmosphere, their breathing mechanism (trachea) and circulatory system (open) do not scale up well, it is the same reason we don't have large insects. Larger animals need have more complex and efficient breathing and circulation than velvet worms have to get enough oxygen out of the current atmosphere. During the carboniferous however oxygen levels were much higher so you did get insects almost as big as us, so a velvet worm that size would be no problem with a different atmosphere.
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
edited 2 days ago
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
answered Sep 9 at 15:13
John
27.3k83896
27.3k83896
Don't humans have tracheas?
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 18:20
2
> The word "trachea" is used to define a very different organ in invertebrates than in vertebrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea#Invertebrates
– Scott Centoni
Sep 9 at 19:22
@ScottCentoni OK, I was thinking of the wrong trachea.
– John Locke
2 days ago
add a comment |Â
Don't humans have tracheas?
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 18:20
2
> The word "trachea" is used to define a very different organ in invertebrates than in vertebrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea#Invertebrates
– Scott Centoni
Sep 9 at 19:22
@ScottCentoni OK, I was thinking of the wrong trachea.
– John Locke
2 days ago
Don't humans have tracheas?
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 18:20
Don't humans have tracheas?
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 18:20
2
2
> The word "trachea" is used to define a very different organ in invertebrates than in vertebrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea#Invertebrates
– Scott Centoni
Sep 9 at 19:22
> The word "trachea" is used to define a very different organ in invertebrates than in vertebrates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachea#Invertebrates
– Scott Centoni
Sep 9 at 19:22
@ScottCentoni OK, I was thinking of the wrong trachea.
– John Locke
2 days ago
@ScottCentoni OK, I was thinking of the wrong trachea.
– John Locke
2 days ago
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1
Are you trying to figure out if it is possible, or how it could have evolved? I don't see a reason why that couldn't happen, but it sounds unrealistic.
– John Locke
Sep 9 at 14:53