Re: ANCESTRY QUESTION?

Carl J Lydick (carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU)
27 Jan 1995 12:52:56 GMT

In article <3g35u8$ms2@tabloid.amoco.com>, btaylor@amoco.com (Brian Taylor) writes:
=Vance wrote
=snip....
=|> animals that have ever lived. (Also, as I'll say again below, it's not
=|> generally thought that all populations everywhere are at all times "on
=|> their way" to some new form.) What do you think are the chances that
=|> a given animal will be fossilized after death?
=|>
=Mark wrote..
=>Yes Vance, but doesn't it seem odd that there are no clear >transitional
=>species in the fossil record? It seems that if darwin were >correct, that
=>the transitional would be the norm in the fossil record since >there would
=>be numerous intermediate species for each *distinct* species (now >everyone
=>doesn't need to jump on what do I mean by distinct -- you know >
=>what I mean).
=This is just not true, in sequences where depositional
=conditions are favourable such transitional forms occur. One
=example is irregular echinoids of the Cretaceous especially
=well developed in the south coast of England. As time goes
=on the position of mouth and anus move and the shape of
=the echinoid changes in response to a changing habitat.
=This is very well documented.
=Deposition tends to be sporadic/episodic and preservation
=relies on a complex series of interactions between
=sedimentation and environment.It's easy to understand why
=transitional species are not ubiquitous.
=Let's have some facts in this thread not just
=unsubstatiated assertions!
=Brian
=my opinion not my employers

But, Brian, you're forgetting an important point: The evidence you cite
contradicts one of the more moronic interpretations of the old testament, and
therefore MUST somehow be false.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl J Lydick | INTERnet: CARL@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU | NSI/HEPnet: SOL1::CARL

Disclaimer: Hey, I understand VAXen and VMS. That's what I get paid for. My
understanding of astronomy is purely at the amateur level (or below). So
unless what I'm saying is directly related to VAX/VMS, don't hold me or my
organization responsible for it. If it IS related to VAX/VMS, you can try to
hold me responsible for it, but my organization had nothing to do with it.