Nevertheless, since so many early life forms, and "lower"life forms are multi-legged, if this was an advantage to larger and more "dominant" life forms, I would expect to see multi-legged mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc. We see none in our evolutionary history. None.

Therefore, to me the inescapable conclusion is that quadrupeds, whether with arms and legs, or four legs, are the best adapted, by far, to survive as larger creatures. The fact that cockroaches have survived for hundreds of millions of years, has have horseshoe crabs, insects, etc. has nothing to do with the evolutionary process. They are superbly adapted to survive for a brief period of time, and procreate in their niche. However, it cannot logically be argued that they in any way represent an advanced life form, nor a dominant one. Algae, pehaps the first reproductive life form, is sitll around in great abundance, but can hardly be called comparable to mammals in terms of evolutionary skills. Algae is the bottom of the food chain on earth. Quadrupeds are at the top.

When we are discussing intelligen and/or advanced forms of life, which are the predators of all others, life on Earth shows us that it is the four-limbed creatures, without exception, and in hundreds of thousands of species, without exception, which have dominated the others. Should an apocolypse occur, I would expect the insects, etc. to survive, not the quadrupeds, but barring that, and when we are considering dominant life forms; and particularly intelligent life forms, quadrupeds dominate on land. The sea is a different environment entirely, with the cephalopods and cetaceans(sp?) as intelligent species, but they are limited by the very environment they inhabit from evolving to tool using creatures such as us.

All of which, of course, has nothing to do with the marvelous multi-legged monstrosities which I love to read about.

Before I read "Glossary", also, why is it that Barsoomian men and women have only two arms, or has this been answered in one of these recent posts I saved for later consumption? Personally, I wouldn't mind meeting a red princess with four arms, all attuned to me. I'm not going to mention any names or anything.

Tarak, making the best use of what he has