Why haven't animals eg rats and fruit flies developed in human history?

Question

If evolution is true, species develop through positive mutations allowing them to survive better. But in recorded history rats and fruit flies have gone through trilions of generations without any developent at all. Why is this? I would have thought that rats would not only have developed but would have arrived at civilisation, buiding little temples and discussing rodent philosophy. Why hasn't it happened? Serious answers please

Answer 1

Species evolve to survive and each have their won speciality. Rats are tough little buggers that can eat anything, which is why they are successfull. Fruit flies breed like crazy and survive by having vast numbers. However, none have any learning ability - they just work on instinct.

Humans are fairly fragile, and have learnt to use tools. Once we learnt to use tools and develop language, we recorded what we have learnt, and successive generations have built on the knowledge. The is why we have developed with civilisation advances. However, we haven't evolved as a species. We are still the same animal that first invented the wheel, but we've just got a bit cleverer.

Answer 2

Rat's haven't needed to evolve, in fact humans are the best thing that ever happened to rats.
We leave scraps around for them to eat, they breed faster than we can kill them.
We have created a rat paradise for rats.
They become immune to our poisons and pass that onto the next generation the ones that survive it the poisons that is.
What we have done for the rats vastly out weighs what we have done to try and get rid of them.
Animals only evolve when they need to have an advantage and compete for resources. A successful animal has no reason to evolve.
Evolution is the survival of the fittest, so to evolve the fittest have to survive and the weakest die, but the weakest rats are surviving so the weaker elements are not dying off so the gene pool is remaining constant so evolution isn't happening. Evolution happens when the strongest survive and the weakest die, as the strongest genes then take over the gene pool.

I have a feeling it is a similar thing with fruit flies.

Hope you understand what I am trying to say.

Answer 3

Evolution is an extremely slow process (millions of years). In order for a full blown evolution to take place there has to be a long series of slight mutations and adaptations first.

Why do you think New York has such a major rat problem? It's because rats are constantly mutating to develop a resistance to the latest strength of poison designed to kill them. Not to mention that they are scavengers who feed off the scraps that we humans are constantly leaving out for them.

One last issue about rat evolution, the general rat habitat has changed very little over the last few million years. As long as it has a constant food supply it's sufficient. The same sort of applies to all animals except humans. Lets face it. No animal has migrated as far and wide (and often) as we have.

Answer 4

Evolution is about adaption to aid survival but you also have to have the potential and desire to progress. Spiders, rats etc have reached a state where, at least for the moment they can survive and there is no real need to evolve any further. Should something affect their ability to survive I'm sure they would evolve further bearing in mind that this doesn't happen overnight. Also with regards to the Human race we continue to evolve because we have the potential and for the most part strive to better ourselves. Granted looking at whats happening in the world the last sentence is possibly hard to believe but I do feel that most people are trying to better themselves.

Answer 5

Rodents and insects had their evolution.
Usually mamals have more variations due their wide range of skills and needs. Insects are related to more limmited world and thier development happen into different scale.

If you look around, you will see a lot of rats variations. There are rats specialized to live within roofs and those specialized to live within sewer. Many of them developed new qualities after human contact.
Each rat specie have specific phisiology due evolution.

Usually scientists use Fruit Flies to check and understand mutation process. (then, they evolve/change). You can easilly see flies or mosquitoes resistent to many weapons created by thse funny humans.

Evolution means adapt due harsh/specific environemt conditions or specialize into specific set of skills.

Develop "human way" isn't easy, once you need several pre requisites to get it like:
- Tool creation hability (creativity)
- Pince hability (to hold and manipulate easily objetcts)
- Bigger brain to develop enough gray mass
- Communication and social requirements
- Constant challenges to individual and group survival conditions

There are animals with partial conditions, like lemures in Africa, Dolphins and Ravens. Several levels of inteligence leading to different ways.

Evolution doesn't mean inteligence, but well succeded set of skills to survive facing environment changes (or sexual requirements).

Inteligence is a misunderstanding concept based on Antropocentric analisys.

Answer 6

Evolution takes millions of years, not just generations.
Evolution is taking place, as species struggle or flourish, the best biological 'configuration' that continues the species will succeed.

I'd suggest that rats and fruit flies have developed during human history.

Answer 7

Because human "history" is only about 5 thousand years old; evolution is a slow process, and the amount of time in history is but the blink of an eye to an evolutionary process. Bear in mind that it took millions of years for the dinosaurs to develop, and they were an evolutionary dead-end!

Answer 8

because the don't have the right kind of brain to develop civilization. however, rats and fruitflies have indeed evolved. most have developed a tolerance to pesticides, which only occurs through evolution, and rats have gotten both bigger and smaller to fit the need of their specific habitat.

Answer 9

Only Humans take giant steps away from nature and towards self destruction

Answer 10

i think the problem with the current model of evolution is that it has never been observed, like god hasn't. i think even evolution calls for an intelligent designer. it is a process, obviuosly designed to protect the eco-systems.
we cannot observe god, outside ourselves.
we cannot observe evolution outside ourselves.
they must be related.