On a 5cm snout, 3.5% is less than 2 mm. You not only wouldn’t notice it with the naked eye, it’s almost a small enough difference to get lost in the noise .
The study is saying they’re already seeing these imperceptible differences in racoons they’re measuring.
My point is that the change in length is only 3.5%, more than someone would notice when taking a photo.
If it was not noticeably cuter, then it would cause no advantage and the theory falls. (Which is possible, of course.)
On a 5cm snout, 3.5% is less than 2 mm. You not only wouldn’t notice it with the naked eye, it’s almost a small enough difference to get lost in the noise .
The study is saying they’re already seeing these imperceptible differences in racoons they’re measuring.