interesting read...............
[[SIZE=5]Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them[/SIZE]]('https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/06/domestication-gave-dogs-two-new-eye-muscles/591868/?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=the-atlantic-fb-test-1050-1-&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0qlPlZZWxouEPEE2YHeJOP16JEcYvKqt_7aw37QjtUKDgt2y5jvBdej0I')
*
Two specialized muscles give them a range of expression that wolves’ eyes lack. *
Dogs, more so than almost any other domesticated species, are desperate for human eye contact. When raised around people, they begin fighting for our attention when they’re as young as four weeks old. It’s hard for most people to resist a petulant flash of puppy-dog eyes—and according to a new study, that pull on the heartstrings might be exactly why dogs can give us those looks at all.
A paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesfound that dogs’ faces are [structured for complex expression]('https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1820653116') in a way that wolves’ aren’t, thanks to a special pair of muscles framing their eyes. These muscles are responsible for that “adopt me” look that dogs can pull by raising their inner eyebrows. It’s the first biological evidence scientists have found that domesticated dogs might have evolved a specialized ability used expressly to communicate better with humans.
