B.B.C. Article
Penguins can taste only sour and salty food, scientists have discovered.
A genetic study suggests the flightless birds lost three of the five basic tastes long ago in evolution.
Taste is critical for survival in most animals, but may not matter in the penguin, which swallows fish whole, say researchers in China and the US.
Many other birds are unable to taste sweet things, but they do have receptors for detecting bitter and umami (or meaty) flavours.
The discovery was made when researchers decoding penguin genomes found some of the taste genes were missing.
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Penguins lost ability to taste fish
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Penguins lost ability to taste fish
#1 
by DougC » Feb 17, 2015 11:30 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31490623
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Re: Penguins lost ability to taste fish
#2 by Evolving » Feb 17, 2015 11:35 pm
Taste is critical for survival in most animals
Is that so? I understood that our particularly keen sense of taste was a legacy of the days when we, like gorillas today, passed from one glade to another and fed off the fruits that grew on the trees round about. And I understood that the big cats had a comparatively underdeveloped sense of taste and would basically eat anything as long as they were hungry.
So I wonder about the sensory peak from which penguins have apparently declined.
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Re: Penguins lost ability to taste fish
#3 by Sendraks » Feb 18, 2015 11:53 am
I'm likewise intrigued by this supposed "sensory peak" in other animals.
My dog's, for example, do prefer certain dog food's over others. They definitely prefer more expensive dog food to cheap stuff and they like variety in food. They prefer the texture of wet food over dry.
Despite this, we're also talking about dogs that once wolf downed left over chateaubriand in nano-seconds. So on what basis they were able to savour any taste at all is lost on me there.
My dog's, for example, do prefer certain dog food's over others. They definitely prefer more expensive dog food to cheap stuff and they like variety in food. They prefer the texture of wet food over dry.
Despite this, we're also talking about dogs that once wolf downed left over chateaubriand in nano-seconds. So on what basis they were able to savour any taste at all is lost on me there.
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Re: Penguins lost ability to taste fish
#4 by Blackadder » Feb 18, 2015 2:30 pm
Sendraks wrote:I'm likewise intrigued by this supposed "sensory peak" in other animals.
My dog's, for example, do prefer certain dog food's over others. They definitely prefer more expensive dog food to cheap stuff and they like variety in food. They prefer the texture of wet food over dry.
Despite this, we're also talking about dogs that once wolf downed left over chateaubriand in nano-seconds. So on what basis they were able to savour any taste at all is lost on me there.
You think your dog is picky? Try having cats. You need to have a sous-chef on the premises to stop the buggers getting bored with the menu. These are the same animals that will drink water from a muddy puddle and will eat grass and spiders.
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