this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2026
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Nearly all tetrapods have a laryngeal nerve that goes from the brain stem to the larynx, but doesn't go straight for the few inches, instead travelling down the neck to go around the aortic arch above the heart. It's a throwback to when we were ocean dwelling and had gills much closer to the heart.
In giraffes this nerve takes a 15 ft detour.
In something like a brachiosaurus which had a neck around 30 ft long, this would be a 60ft detour.
A great proof of evolution, of making do with what is there and adapting.
Brachiosaurus wasn’t a mammal.
Yes but a brachiosaurus is still a fish
Hell yeah, fuck paraphyletic groups.
Correct. I'll change to Tetrapods.
I wasn’t gonna say this but since you’re making changes anyway: the recurrent laryngeal nerve doesn’t go around the heart but around the aortic arch and the great arteries.
Meh, I’ve seen better arteries.