Little worlds, little worlds...

as Marvin the Paranoid Android* was wont to muse in his introspective moments. The point of this: researching the origin on the magnificently-named Theodosius Dobzhansky's oft-quoted line 'Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution' I found this throught-provoking para about the degree of specialisation found in nature:

Perhaps the narrowest ecologic niche of all is that of a species of the fungus family Laboulbeniaceae, which grows exclusively on the rear portion of the elytra of the beetle Aphenops cronei, which is found only in some limestone caves in southern France. Larvae of the fly Psilopa petrolei develop in seepages of crude oil in California oilfields; as far as is known they occur nowhere else. This is the only insect able to live and feed in oil, and its adult can walk on the surface of the oil only as long as no body part other than the tarsi are in contact with the oil. Larvae of the fly Drosophila carciniphila develop only in the nephric grooves beneath the flaps of the third maxilliped of the land crab Geocarcinus ruricola, which is restricted to certain islands in the Caribbean.

Maybe the scientists among us get used to this kind of thing, but it made me boggle and marvel for a while. O well, back to fundraising.

* From the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The original BBC Radio 4 version: all else is dross.