Happy Darwin Day

Published 2008-02-12 by Chris

The 12th of February marks the birth of, without exaggeration, one of the most brilliant scientific minds of all time. Charles Darwin is right up there with Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Harold Urey. The Theory of Evolution (which is a fact) is one of the most important ideas ever published. And remember, I’m not a biologist, a geneticist or even a palaeontologist, just a simple planetary geochemist. But the Theory of Evolution is so important to our understanding of how biology works, we would be much worse off without it (thanks to its application in medicine and food production).

Now my gushing is out of the way, I’ve often been interested in the evolution of Darwin’s immense beard. Here to hopefully inspire your own interest in the growth of this fascinating creature, I present Darwin’s beard through the ages (all images can be clicked and embiggened);

Every species but one (the first one) requires some sort of ancestor. Here we observe Darwin’s beard in early, primitive forms (left to right ages 7, 29 and 32). Not so much covering the chin, as framing it. Natural selection had obviously not required an adaptation requiring complete chin coverage in this environment, but the genesis is obvious.

At this stage of evolution (aged 45 and 51), the beard not so much as changes, but finds itself the in a changing environment where previous domination by head hair has come and gone. The time seems appropriate to fill the vacated niches. But how? Only natural selection will bear fruit on this mystery. A appearance of the clade known as “the crazy eyes”is brief and not well preserved in the fossil record.

Finally the last and most developed specimens of the Darwin beard (age 60 and 72). Here it makes its finest and most dominating appearance in its natural environment. Had suitable conditions continued, imagine the great evolutionary frontiers the mighty Darwin beard could have reached. Perhaps natural geographical isolation could have formed between hair of neck and hair of chin, resulting in speciation the likes of which the world has never seen.

Next year will mark both Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the first publication of The Origin of Species, so get to thinking about your celebrations.

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