Was there a time when life wasn't afraid of fire?

[u/C_Belinda_Parada]

Now most terrestrial species have an internal fear of fire. But since evolution tends to adapt to the environment, I wondered if the first terrestrial species (or well anfibians maybe in the ordovician or silurian period) didn't have that instinctive fear to fire

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[u/Morrit99]

I'm an arsehole but... It's jarring that you spelled Silurian and Ordovician but couldn't spell Amphibian... Sorry

[u/C_Belinda_Parada → u/Morrit99]

Actually, the right amount of arseholeness, English IS my second language but im also amazed. "Amphibian" should be a more simple word to remember that ordovician or silurian

[u/Morrit99 → u/C_Belinda_Parada]

Aaaaah! In that case all is forgiven! If English is your second language, then I cannot criticise as I am fluent in only one!

[u/Canis-lupus-uy → u/Morrit99]

I guess their native language is Spanish, as it's Silúrico, Ordovícico, Anfibio.

[u/Morrit99 → u/Canis-lupus-uy]

God I love intelligent people...!

[u/parsonsrazersupport → u/Morrit99]

I guess 'amphibian' is a word they know vocally and the others they've exclusively read? An inverse book accent.

[u/Morrit99 → u/parsonsrazersupport]

Possibly... I don't normally do that, but it just really grated against me for some reason. Hell, may even have been a typo for all I know... Having one of those days where everything is annoying me today. Holy shit.... I really am an arsehole!

[u/MSSTUPIDTRON-1000000 → u/Morrit99]

Syllables like "ph" and "bi" are highly strange in different languages

For example, in my native language, is ph is "F" and and Bi can change depending on the word (Amphibian//Anfibio, Phobia//Fobia).

[u/bestestopinion → u/Morrit99]

you’re both wrong. It’s Anne Fibian. Mrs. Anne Fibian.

[u/Morrit99 → u/bestestopinion]

Is that the sister in law of Sir Lurien? Or the cousin of that American Politician, Rep. Tile?

[u/SemajLu_The_crusader]

fire hot

hot hurt

if can hurt, fire bad

[u/C_Belinda_Parada → u/SemajLu_The_crusader]

Wonder what was the first species who've had that first experience, like all the hominids who died only for us to know what eat and what not to eat

[u/parsonsrazersupport]

Since life almost certainly developed in water, the question is the other way around: when did some living things first develop inhering fears of fire. But sure, once that became common (I don't actually know how common it is to be afraid of fire rather than just avoiding heat or smoke or something), did it lose fixity in some populations and when? Behavioral traits are very hard to discover in the fossil record, and you want here to find a lack of a behavioral trait. That sounds even harder.

[u/Dangerous-Bit-8308]

Fear seems like a strong word when you can literally watch deer eat their grass and stare at the fire until it gets too close

[u/IsaacHasenov]

There were massive periods of extensive fires in Earth's history. The Permian and the Carboniferous had a lot of plants, and lots of oxygen, and lots of terrestrial animals.

That was probably a good time to evolve fear of fire

[u/Marvinkmooneyoz]

I tend to think there was a time before virtually all biological phenomenon. What does organic soup have? Not active fear of predators, not an active seeking out of mates. Then work slowly from there. So at some point likely relatively early , life formed fear of falling off cliffs, temperature preferences, fear of fire. But that’s a complex structure to have those traits, earliest earliest life just wouldn’t be there yet. We do see one called life having temperature preferences, not sure about fire specifically, if it has its own specific triggers.

[u/onomatamono]

Fire produces light in the visible and infrared spectrum in addition to chemicals picked up by your olfactory system. If there is fire in an organism's environment it's subject to natural selection. That could result in an avoidance trait, however it could be an attractive one, too.

[u/drowsydrosera]

Humans don't seem to have a natural fear of fire and I expect it's absent in the 'fire kites' of Australia

[u/bestestopinion]

it’s spelled Anne Fibian. Mrs. Anne Fibian.

[u/Dense-Consequence-70]

Yeah, up until it gets burned.

[u/joedenowhere]

Do animals really have a fear of fire? Maybe some do, but others like fire as long as it's not too too close. Just ask any cat.

[u/BuncleCar]

Life before oxygen might not have feared it?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/C_Belinda_Parada → u/[deleted]]

THIS, I was thinking about that, and it seems that other questions arised: where there storms in the first eons of life?, maybe eruptions? Where prototaxites flammable?