Originally posted by galveston75
So exactly what problems if any arise from this design?
There would inevitably be a very slight reduction in the probability of the giraffe surviving compared to a hypothetical giraffe which has that nerve taking the more obvious direct route.
This is because there would be a variety of biological costs for having that extra length of nerve which would include:
1, extra protein and nutrients needed to grow that extra length of nerve that could have gone to, say, the leg muscles thus making it able to run faster etc.
2, extra amount of energy needed to send an electrical signal from the brain to the larynx –this could be critical in a situation where the giraffe is short of energy.
3, extra delay in time needed to send an electrical signal from the brain to the larynx due to the extra distance of the route.
4, extra weight of the unnecessary extra length of nerve in the neck.
5, the greater risk of the nerve being fatally injured if the neck is injured below the larynx.
None of these disadvantages are significant but that wouldn’t change the fact that it would be rather silly for an “intelligent designer” to design the neck to give all those disadvantages –rather like me designing a car with the wire for the front lights go from the control switch to the boot of the car and then circle back to the front -a flaw that is not significant but still silly to make.