So I built a stegosaurus model kit, which included some factoids in the instructions. One of these factoids was that stegosaurs are not believed to have had a secondary brain in the hips to help them control their rear half after all. That was wild to me, since the whole stegosaurs and sauropods with their tiny heads needing a secondary brain for their huge bodies was commonly accepted back when I was a kid. So I looked it up, and indeed, the current hypothesis is that the cavity that the second brain was thought to occupy is used for a thing called a glycogen body. But what exactly does a glycogen body do? We'll get back to you on that, apparently.

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[–] 10 points 1 year ago (15 children)

I mean, yes, but... What other vertebrates have developed a secondary brain? That's a big deal evolutionarily, considering all other vertebrates have the one.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    It's been theorized that our digestive system acts as a sort of second brain.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    Isn't that mostly pushed by the vaccines-cause-autism guy?

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    No idea who you are talking about, but it's well known that we have a really large and complex neuron structure spread through our digestive system.

    Nobody calls it a brain just because it's not an organ.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (10 children)

    Turtles have two brains. The first brain is located in the head and controls the eyes, ears, mouth, and other senses. The second brain is located in the neck region and controls the legs, tail, and other body parts.

    The brain of a turtle is much like ours, except for one big difference: they don’t have any bones. Their skulls are made up of cartilage instead of bone. This means that their skulls are flexible and can change shape to adapt to different situations.

    Edit:

    Source 2:

    Turtles possess a unique protective shell, leading to questions about its nature. In fact, turtles do have bones, and their shell is an integral, living component of their skeletal system, not a separate structure they can leave. This remarkable shell provides comprehensive protection, housing all their internal organs.

    https://biologyinsights.com/do-turtles-have-bones-explaining-their-skeleton/

    Source 3:

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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle#/media/File:How_the_Turtle_Gets_its_Shell.svg

    Looks like turtles have bones and you all flunked biology class. I didn't flunk, but I didn't pass with flying colors, so I have no idea on any of this shit.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Turtles don't have bones? Is this satire?

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  • [+] -6 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago

    How are you finding these sites? They're both AI generated ad farms with absolutely no seo. This one at least seems credible but it's just bizarre. It's literally just random science-adjacent Q&As on a science-adjacent URL with no other info. It's like a liminal space of online pseudo science. The biology backrooms.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (6 children)
    1. I stand corrected... And impressed.
    2. That link wasn't in your answer a minute ago.
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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    This isn’t true, the other poster’s source is likely AI generated. Turtles certainly have unique brain structures, but it’s still considered one brain with multiple regions. And these regions are all within the skull, not the neck.

    EDIT: Just read their source again and they state turtles don’t have bones. Wow.

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