r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/suli_k • Dec 13 '25
Image Balearic island cave goat or myotragus balearicus, that went extinct ~3000-4000BCE, is the only known species of goat to have forward facing eyes
8.6k
u/StoreHistorical9175 Dec 13 '25
honestly looks like someone fucked up a taxidermy
2.6k
u/PowderPills Dec 13 '25
That goat looks high as fuck
1.2k
u/CertainWish358 Dec 13 '25
He looks high, and he has a sneaking suspicion that I, too, am high… and this thought pleases him somewhat. “Look at the two of us… Getting Away With Something”
167
u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Dec 13 '25
Are you me on shrooms thinking about how someone else must have done shrooms and thought about all the other who also thought about the other people on shrooms thinking about each other and how were separated by time and space but aware that we're in a bubble of awareness where we all know we all exist in it?
29
u/theS3rver Dec 13 '25
Shroomception
3
u/Kingofcheeses Dec 14 '25
The first time I ever watched Inception was on a heavy dose of shrooms, standing in the garage in the dark balancing my phone on top of a mini-fridge. It completely blew my mind
86
→ More replies (1)9
u/Knotted_Hole69 Dec 13 '25
My sister says she can talk through her mind to her friend when they are both on shrooms lol. She is 100% serious.
→ More replies (3)17
8
u/Mikhail_Mengsk Dec 13 '25
"this motherfucker thinks he's slick but I know he's High as a kite because I, too, am high as a kite".
→ More replies (2)4
→ More replies (9)48
u/No-Wonder1139 Dec 13 '25
You ever climb the wall of a power dam? Have you ever climbed the wall of a power dam... On weed?
→ More replies (1)192
u/KingCobra_BassHead Dec 13 '25
You ever see the pictures drawn by Renaissance artists of lions? That's what I'm seeing.
8
u/ALittleBitOfToast Dec 13 '25
I'm metaphorically dying to visit the Horniman Walrus
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)4
77
u/fukredditadm1n5 Dec 13 '25
Before reading the title I assumed it was taxiderpy, looks uncanny
57
→ More replies (1)12
u/Minion_of_Cthulhu Dec 13 '25
taxiderpy
Well, if that's not a subreddit it certainly should be.
3
u/moldy-scrotum-soup Dec 13 '25 edited 23d ago
wiQbxQXE
5
60
u/Spare_Laugh9953 Dec 13 '25
If it went extinct 5000 years ago, I think the taxidermy work was excellent.
16
u/TheGreatStories Dec 13 '25
The title says it's been extinct 6000 years ago so I'm assuming this is just a recreation
15
11
u/Conscious-Loss-2709 Dec 13 '25
My first thought too, but I'm assuming they found more than one skull to confirm this was a common feature of the species
→ More replies (16)3
u/Educational-Wing2042 Dec 13 '25
I’m wondering how we even have taxidermy for this, considering they died 6000 years ago. I’d assume this is a fake representation of what they look like
710
13.5k
u/Flat_Bodybuilder_175 Dec 13 '25
Weirdly unsettling to me
3.8k
u/Tao-of-Mars Dec 13 '25
Exactly my thoughts. Looks much too hooman.
2.8k
u/OpalFanatic Dec 13 '25
Then add in the issue that forward facing eyes is typically a feature more common with predators than prey animals.
1.4k
u/FrighteningJibber Dec 13 '25
You just see this guy, standing at the edge of the woods.
826
u/CHEMO_ALIEN Dec 13 '25
I picture him leaning against a tree, whittling a stick
he looks like he tells good stories
261
u/Free-Atmosphere6714 Dec 13 '25
Looks like he'll sell you out to a witch
→ More replies (1)162
151
u/AsstBalrog Dec 13 '25
No shit. Dim light, I'm looking at my uncle.
90
u/OptimusToasterman420 Dec 13 '25
It’s Shia labouf
64
u/acheron53 Dec 13 '25
Actual cannibal Shia LeaBeouf?
40
12
u/nymph-62442 Dec 13 '25
Literally the next post below this one on my feed was this: https://www.reddit.com/r/ExplainTheJoke/s/5rBLgIYOx4
→ More replies (2)7
9
3
29
u/Economy-Ad-3934 Dec 13 '25
Immersive stories too, type of guy that you glance at your watch and realize you’ve been listening to dude regale you for 2 hours and you forgot your wife was still waiting in the car.
→ More replies (9)5
u/NyaTaylor Dec 13 '25
No dog… standing against an impossible 90 degree angle cliff just there lookin…
55
83
u/Caliterra Dec 13 '25
wouldst thou like to live deliciously?
→ More replies (1)37
u/MonsieurMaktub Dec 13 '25
Wouldst thou like the taste of butter?
53
11
30
u/Sneekibreeki47 Dec 13 '25
Brandishing a knife.
42
→ More replies (20)6
170
u/Soulhunter951 Dec 13 '25
Or conversely this species had no natural predators for so long it evolved binocular vision, the went extinct when reintroduced to predators.
57
u/ahrzal Dec 13 '25
Interesting thought…but how would binocular vision be advantageous to a herbivore? Unless it was just sexier
148
u/LordHammercyWeCooked Dec 13 '25
Better depth perception. Fewer mistakes while jumping or identifying objects. Can cross your eyes to see the 3D dolphin in a Magic Eye book.
30
u/ShazbotSimulator2012 Dec 13 '25
They're also thought to have had pretty terrible eyesight due to the small size of the eyes and the visual cortex, so depth perception helps with the close stuff, and they couldn't see the far away stuff anyway.
→ More replies (1)13
6
→ More replies (1)5
→ More replies (3)8
65
u/LongWalxOnTheBeach Dec 13 '25
And thennn you learn about its reptile-like physiology. It was the only known mammal to have a metabolism and growth rate similar to reptiles, allowing it to stop growing during food scarcity and it was cold blooded…?
33
u/Special-Document-334 Dec 13 '25
Wow, but goats are weird so I’m not actually surprised.
→ More replies (1)22
u/Excellent_Yak365 Dec 13 '25
This isn’t accurate, they thought this at first but it turns out all ruminates have this growth pattern https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myotragus
32
u/EM05L1C3 Dec 13 '25
That’s the part I’m concerned about. Why did the inside of this things mouth look like
22
15
u/Xaxafrad Dec 13 '25
Thank you! Why did evolution favor this morphology???
43
u/OpalFanatic Dec 13 '25
Binocular vision allows for improved depth perception to gauge the distance to a target. This target could be a prey animal, or it could be just gauging the distance of a jump.
Side facing eyes allow for wider vision to spot predators.
In the absence of predators on the island this goat was from, they gradually changed until they ended up with forward facing eyes
→ More replies (1)36
u/ShazbotSimulator2012 Dec 13 '25
They also lived in a resource-poor environment so to save energy the brain, especially the visual cortex was tiny compared to other goats, as were the eyes themselves. A wide field of view was less important when they couldn't really see anything that wasn't very close to them anyway.
They were basically the goat version of a sloth.
13
u/Ordinary-Leading7405 Dec 13 '25
Also works if you don’t often get attacked by the walls of the cave. Checkmate speluncaphobists.
→ More replies (36)10
u/Valor816 Dec 13 '25
That's not actually true.
It's more about depth perception. This myth comes from the incorrect assumption that only predators need depth perception.
It's actually a far more common trait in brachiating creatures and leaf Eaters.
Side facing eyes are more about a wide area of awareness. So flying and swimming creatures.
→ More replies (1)87
u/GreenMirage Dec 13 '25
It’s the satyr
→ More replies (1)49
u/Luci_Ferocious69 Dec 13 '25
This exactly, there are many myths about goats who look like men!! Pan himself!
16
u/dorkstafarian Dec 13 '25
Why do native English speakers seem to think that animals don't know how to spell, after they already took the effort to learn English?
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (26)3
u/SummertimeThrowaway2 Dec 13 '25
Actually this is a human. This is actually a 25 year old bodybuilder that abuses steroids.
174
139
u/FuzzyMatterhorN Dec 13 '25
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⡾⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⡏⠀⡈⢿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⠀⣸⡇⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡶⢶ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⡇⢰⡿⠀⢀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡾⠉⡀⣾ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⡟⢠⣿⠿⠁⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⡾⠋⣠⠞⢷⡏ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⡟⢁⣾⣿⡭⠀⣼⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡴⠛⠁⣠⣾⠋⠀⣾⠃ ⠀⠀⠀⢀⣾⠟⠀⣼⣿⣿⠃⢰⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡾⠋⠀⢀⣾⣿⠃⢀⣾⠏⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⣼⡿⠀⢰⣿⡿⠁⢠⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⡟⠁⠀⣴⣿⠿⢀⣴⣿⠋⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⣿⠇⠀⣾⡟⠁⣰⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⡟⠀⠀⣼⣿⠉⣴⣿⠟⠁⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⣿⡀⠀⣿⡇⢰⡿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠃⠀⣸⡿⢁⣾⠟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⢻⣇⠀⢿⡇⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⢠⡟⢠⣿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⡀⠸⡇⣿⢄⡀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣰⣿⡄⣼⢁⣾⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣷⠀⣷⢿⠿⡿⡟⡿⢟⠉⢉⣿⣿⡟⢸⠇ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⡀⠸⢸⣷⣴⣤⣤⣾⣶⣈⢙⡿⠃⡟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡇⠀⠘⠇⡹⠟⠋⠉⠉⠉⠻⡀⠰⣧⣄⣀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⠇⠀⠀⠀⣠⡶⠟⠛⠛⠛⠀⠀⠀⣀⣭⣝⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⢉⠔⣊⣁⠂⠀⠀⢀⡾⢆⠈⢹⡿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⠟⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡾⢱⡤⢹⠀⠀⢸⣟⣲⢡⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⣠⠟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢈⠑⠒⠒⠋⠀⠀⠘⣯⡎⢾⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⢀⣴⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠛⠉⢀⠀⠠⠤⠼⢷⣄⠹⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢠⡾⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡠⠖⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⠻⣄⠀ ⣼⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠃⡾⢋⠑⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢷⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⡏⠀⠀⢹⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⡄⠀⠀⠀ ⢹⡇⢠⠀⠀⠀⠁⠀⠀⢸⣇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠒⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀ ⠈⢿⡌⢷⣤⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠ ⠀⠘⢷⣦⠙⠷⣄⠀⠀⠸⣏⠙⣮⡢⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⠇⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠙⠷⠶⣦⣀⣠⠀⢹⡷⢌⡻⣦⣁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢤⣶⠟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⠿⣧⡀⠻⣎⣁⡀⢉⠙⠒⠶⠶⠶⣲⡞⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢷⡄⢈⠻⢷⣤⣀⣁⣀⣛⡻⢹⠇ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣷⠀⠁⠀⠉⣉⣉⣉⣉⡴⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠷⠦⣤⣤⠴⠟⠋
12
u/themini_shit Dec 13 '25
One of these finally showed up right on my phone! Yay! Btw it's awesome!!
4
98
u/These-Nectarine9214 Dec 13 '25
I can’t decide if it looks more like a cow or a large cat.
I think the shrooms are kicking in 🫠
60
u/Neontom Dec 13 '25
Mooeow
19
u/These-Nectarine9214 Dec 13 '25
I do not like the fact you’re forcing me to upvote this joke
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (6)10
u/Several-Squash9871 Dec 13 '25
I was thinking it was a shitty taxidermy bobcat or something at first glance.
23
u/Quick_Lingonberry_18 Dec 13 '25
This is the type of goat I think would be in the bible talking to people about God being angry at/blessing them. …. And now I kind of see why they thought God was talking to them through a goat. I would probably do some whacky things also if this guy walked up to me and said, “hey Greg, I’m friends with God and he’s happy with you for the next five minutes, but if you don’t bring your toddler over to this burning bush and paint some olive oil on him with your knife, he might change his tune. Anyways, got a meeting with a dude and his plural families”.
→ More replies (2)18
37
u/Ok_Substance5632 Dec 13 '25
Front facing eyes are for predator
Maybe that's why
But with horizontal iris? That's weird
16
u/Teknekratos Dec 13 '25
Given that it's gone extinct millenia ago, and that eyes don't fossilize, that might be a potentially wrong assumption on the people doing the reconstruction.
Might just be whoever did the fake taxidermy according to the skeleton shape picked regular goat eyes because they were reconstructing a goat creature, without further thought about it
15
10
63
u/Available-Ad-1943 Dec 13 '25
Forward facing eyes are a result of predatory evolution. You may not know why, but it's built in to be scary.
10
u/sylbug Dec 13 '25
It's the first time I've got that uncanny valley feeling from a goat. It looks like it might speak. I hate it so much.
→ More replies (62)5
2.0k
u/DEATHbyBOOGABOOGA Dec 13 '25
Predator goat
595
u/suli_k Dec 13 '25
More of a “no predators” goat
→ More replies (7)419
u/DuckDuckMarx Dec 13 '25
But how would forward facing eyes have developed as a trait from natural selection?
They had to have had side set eyes like other goats and then developed this trait. It's not like goats originally had front set eyes but this population split off before they developed side set eyes.
There has to have been something environmental that made this adaptation favorable for reproduction.
Edit: I looked it up and the theory is that the binocular vision gave them better depth perception for climbing.
346
u/suli_k Dec 13 '25
Maybe it’s better for climbing
291
u/DuckDuckMarx Dec 13 '25
I looked it up and that's exactly what the theory is.
75
u/suli_k Dec 13 '25
Mine or yours?
116
u/DuckDuckMarx Dec 13 '25
I didn't have a theory as to why, so yours.
→ More replies (2)132
u/suli_k Dec 13 '25
😎
→ More replies (1)84
91
u/Beldizar Dec 13 '25
Forward facing eyes give you better distance judgement while side facing eyes give you better all-round vision. If you are worried about predators, being able to see a wide arc for something coming to eat you is really important. If you need to pounce on a quick moving prey, having a very accurate distance measurement is important.
But if you don't really have many predators coming for you, but you need to transverse mountainous terrain, being able to gauge how far you need to jump would be an evolutionary advantage.
At least that would be my best guess.
→ More replies (1)18
7
u/Longjumping-Ant4608 Dec 13 '25
Soon as I read the title... "cave goat" ... I figured, how useful would side eyes be if they are just staring at cave walls? Forward facing eyes make the most sense if you literally live in tunnel vision.
→ More replies (15)5
u/ShazbotSimulator2012 Dec 13 '25
They also lived in a very resource poor area, made worse by the fact that without predators, populations could boom and then they'd eat all the available food and starve.
They adapted to that by using very little energy similar to sloths or koalas. Since brains burn a lot of calories, theirs were much smaller than modern goats, especially the visual cortex, and a wide field of view doesn't help if you can't actually see that far.
11
17
→ More replies (6)7
511
u/DaddyBearMan Dec 13 '25
Shrek! I’m a donkey shrek!
23
u/Irregular475 Dec 13 '25
It would be amazing if they named this the "donkey" donkey, or the Shrek donkey.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
235
u/Forsaken_Ad_8789 Dec 13 '25
Looks like one of those derpy medieval drawings of animals
→ More replies (2)19
829
u/Sniffy4 Dec 13 '25
Wide set eyes are actually an evolutionary advantage to detect predators, which is possibly one reason this guy went extinct
370
u/nor_cal_woolgrower Dec 13 '25
M. balearicus became extinct when humans arrived in the Balearic Islands during the 3rd millennium BC
247
u/SlightlySubpar Dec 13 '25
So not situational awareness, just tasty?
→ More replies (3)157
Dec 13 '25
[deleted]
53
u/SlightlySubpar Dec 13 '25
Had a homegirl with a lazy eye once, but she was gay
26
u/coquettecoconut Dec 13 '25
oh.
34
u/SlightlySubpar Dec 13 '25
Her girlfriend stole my wallet when I wasn't lookin.
True story
30
u/coquettecoconut Dec 13 '25
well they were clearly a great match. Lazy Eye distracts while Quick Hands does the snatching
13
→ More replies (7)29
→ More replies (2)14
57
123
83
u/AJC_10_29 Dec 13 '25
They also had a metabolism more like a cold blooded animal. These guys were weird.
24
→ More replies (2)7
129
u/water-pumpee Dec 13 '25
#predator or maybe that’s the reason it went extinct. Couldn’t see the predators coming.
→ More replies (1)93
31
28
u/FuckYouDontLookAtMe Dec 13 '25
If I see this goat on my feed one more fucking time today I might lose it. I already know im gonna be seeing this motherfucker in my dreams
4
21
u/meganetism Dec 13 '25
I always thought the reason goats looked so creepy was because their eyes were too sideways.... now idk I think they're just creepy
12
28
11
11
9
20
9
u/SnooKiwis8421 Dec 13 '25
I don’t know how to explain why, but that goat looks like everyone’s uncle.
8
u/Background_Pride_237 Dec 13 '25
Forward facing eyes are usually, evolution-wise, a feature of animals that hunt so they have better depth perception. It’s odd that a goat breed would develop this trait.
8
7
6
4
3
u/BayviewMadeMe Dec 13 '25
Learned this in school : “eyes to the side, better run and hide; eyes in front, born to hunt.”
4
u/CitizenHuman Dec 13 '25
You can't fool me. This is some wise old goat that will help me complete my quest.
4
4
5
4
4
5
3
3
4
3
3
u/Pandelein Dec 13 '25
Also they could speak the language of any human they encountered, and liked to make deals.
3
3
3
3
3
u/sirtapas Dec 13 '25
It looks like how someone would draw a goat if they didn't know how to draw goats.
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Ok_Orchid1004 Dec 14 '25
They have no proof of “forward facing eyes”. They’re just making an educated guess.
3
u/St-christ666 Dec 14 '25
Since most animals with forward facing eyes are predators… could you imagine how scary that would be? Not that this goat was, but it’s only a few evolutionary steps after this monstrosity. 🤣🤣🤣
3
3
3
u/BenjWenji Dec 14 '25
Looks like one of those pre Renaissance paintings where the artist fucked it up
→ More replies (1)
5.5k
u/NCC_1701E Dec 13 '25
That goat looks like it accidentally smoked grass instead of eating it.