Isolated animals tend to evolve larger or smaller sizes depending on resources and predators.
The island rule: small mammals tend to become larger (giant rats) and large mammals smaller (dwarf elephants, Homo floresiensis). Causes involve fewer predators and limited resources.
Island life changes selection: fewer predators and limited resources. Extinct dwarf elephants and giant tortoises illustrate.
Example: Flores hominins were small.
Isolated animals tend to evolve larger or smaller sizes depending on resources and predators.
Island Gigantism and Dwarfism is one of the 53 topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity. It is rated Advanced, so it suits learners who want specialist depth. Related topics in this area include Regeneration, Metabolic Scaling, Sexual Dimorphism.
Komodo dragons are the largest living lizards.
Work through the Beginner topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity first, such as Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, Sponges, then return to Island Gigantism and Dwarfism. Advanced topics assume the Intermediate vocabulary.
The closest topics to Island Gigantism and Dwarfism are Regeneration, Metabolic Scaling, Sexual Dimorphism, Domestication Genetics. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Island Gigantism and Dwarfism. To practise the whole of Zoology & Animal Diversity, use the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz.
Island Gigantism and Dwarfism: Isolated animals tend to evolve larger or smaller sizes depending on resources and predators. Regeneration: Planarians, starfish and salamanders regrow lost parts using stem cells or dedifferentiation. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Regeneration and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Planarians, starfish and salamanders regrow lost parts using stem cells or dedifferentiation.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityMetabolic rate scales with body mass to the three-quarter power, described by Kleiber's law.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityConsistent differences in size or appearance between the sexes, shaped by sexual selection.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversitySelection for tameness changed many traits together, as shown in the Russian fox experiment.
🦁 Zoology & Animal Diversity