#3658: Carl Zimmer — 06/21  at  05:19 PM
Nice scans--thanks!

#3659: — 06/21  at  05:45 PM
Read Carl's article everyone...not "an" aquatic sloth, but at least 5 species with gradually evolving adaptations spanning from 8 to 1.5 million years ago. Talk about your least likely divers...a truly unintelligent design brought about by biological necessity.

#3660: — 06/21  at  06:05 PM
Aquatic sloth... Reminds me of my last vacation at the beach.

#3662: — 06/21  at  06:30 PM
Poppycock. We all know there are no transitional fossils.

Could someone more in the know comment on the theory that polar bears are a species in transition toward an aquatic lifestyle? Or at least (to avoid the suggestion that evolution is somehow directional) that the changes polar bears have undergone are similar to those that might happen to a species moving into an aquatic lifestyle? It's something I heard tossed off on PBS; I'm curious whether there's anything to it.

Of course they'll likely all be dead in 100 years.

#3663: — 06/21  at  06:38 PM
"But it's still a sloth...."

#3664: — 06/21  at  09:55 PM
I note that Carl is in the fine tradition of creatively spelling your name. A man after my own typing abilities...

I also note that modern sloths can swim just fine, using a kind of dogpaddle. They are almost comical to wacth.