Atavism is a cruel "joke" of nature

Such people are extremely rare, but it is the "hairy man" that is a classic example of atavism in the school biology course. Atavism is the appearance of traits in an organism that are absent in its relatives and their closest ancestors, but were once present in their distant predecessors. Among the examples of atavism in humans are "hairy people", the appearance of a caudal appendage, polymastia - the appearance of additional mammary glands, the formation of a cervical fistula resembling the gill slit of the ancestors of mammals - fish and amphibians. Next, a few more photos of people affected by atavisms.



Eleven-year-old Prutviraj Patil from the village of Sanglivadi in the Indian state of Maharashtra went to the hospital with a unique complaint. The boy's entire body (including his face) was completely overgrown with hair.