The Primal Roots of Red Hair Revealed

LiveScience ^ | May 24, 2007 | LiveScience Staff

[SunkenCiv]

Primatologists know humans, apes and monkeys can see red, but have quarreled over what initially locked the adaptation into place. Did it first help primates find meals, or was the ability to see a red-headed, red-skinned mate from a mile away the first benefit of full-color vision? A new study shows that apes first evolved color vision to help them forage food, after which nature made red the sexiest color around and spiked apes' evolutionary tree with red hair and skin... Andre Fernandez, an evolutionary biologist at Ohio University and co-author of the paper, explained that neuroscientists have already found animals are highly attracted to brilliant colors... To discover the true origin of red hair, Fernandez collected data on the hair and skin color, color vision and sexual habits of 203 different primate species. He then plugged the data into the primate evolutionary tree... According to the tree, or phylogeny, color vision arose first, followed by the appearance of red hair, skin and advanced mating systems.

[SunkenCiv]

In case you were going to ask, it sounds like a great big crock to me.

Red Hair site:freerepublic.com

Google

[SunkenCiv]

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh, ahh, is all I want to say to you.

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[ken21]

do red haired chics have more fun?

i like brunettes.

[ApplegateRanch]

red-headed, red-skinned mate from a mile away

Is this a racist comment, or just an offhand reference to their lack of sunscreen?

[null and void]

Blushing...

[Captainpaintball]

A new study shows that apes first evolved color vision to help them forage food,

what did these apes do, wish for it real hard? How did they know that adding color spectrums, they could get more food...let alone knowing there were other colors in the first place?

[JamesP81]

I love redheads, speaking for myself.

[Fred Nerks]

[Pyro7480]

[martin_fierro]

...and then something went horribly, horribly wrong.

[CarrotAndStick]

"...what did these apes do, wish for it real hard? How did they know that adding color spectrums, they could get more food...let alone knowing there were other colors in the first place?"

The ones with the favourable features got a better chance at mating, better acceptance into groups, and thus better chance to live, on the whole and have more offspring with similar features.

[M203M4]

Some genetic defects cause blindness, some cause the eyes not to develop at all, some cause bones to develop improperly, etc. A genetic "defect" is something we generally think of as being bad - and the overwhelming majority of genetic defects *are* bad! Once in a while, however, a random germline genetic mutation (radiation, errors during cell division, or mutagenic chemical induced damage to DNA) results in a (neomorphic) change in physical characteristics (phenotype) which is beneficial (under some particular environmental conditions). And what happens then?

(moderate simplification - the following is applicable, but non-specific, to color vision) The freak with the random mutation first bestowing advantage X has an easier time finding food, can provide for many children/mates, and passes the genetic "defect" down to his/her children, who likewise benefit from this "defect". X was such an advantage that the underlying genetic defect spread, each generation of descendants breeding in part with members of the species having the non-defective gene; after thousands of generations, the "defect" approaches normative status - everyone has it, meaning that, in all likelihood, all subsequent individuals within the population are descendants of the genetic "freak" whose daddy's sperm scored the lucky photon (for example) . Common ancestry without a genetic bottleneck - genetic variation is maintained (no change in amplitude of genetic white noise for the species).

If a particular eye color had a similar extreme advantage, that eye color would eventually become dominant in a similar fashion.

The children of today form the basis of tomorrow's gene pool, and the introduction of a beneficial defect (extremely rare occurrence - most (non-somatic) genetic defects are fatal in utero) into that gene pool may spread through the generations and eventually become dominant (if the natural conditions warrant that defect to be "selected" - simply, those who have the defect, have more children who reach adulthood and themselves have more children, etc). Genetic failure (genes and novel mutations associated with phenotypes bestowing reduced reproductive success) is punished, and genetic success is rewarded.

[sand88]

Thanks for the interesting explanation. It is a very informative post.

[SunkenCiv]

Somehow, I’m reminded of the gorilla scene in “Trading Places”...

[Allegra]

Redhead ping.

[TChad]

color vision arose first, followed by the appearance of red hair, skin and advanced mating systems.

How can blondes have more fun, if redheads have more advanced mating systems?

[ValerieTexas]

Blondes just have more time to devote to producing propaganda while redheads are having more fun.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Ditto for the crock opinion. If red-hair was so popular, why is it among the least common hair color (white hair not based on age could be rarer).

[YOUGOTIT]

“A new study shows that apes first evolved color vision to help them forage food,”

And this study was conducted when? This is another big piece of dung stating that a computer simulation can tell us when some million or so years ago the apes were able to see color for the first time. A computer simulation can tell you anything you want it to, all you have to do is make the correct programming for your desired ending.