If Species Have Descended From Other Species By Fine Gradations...?

Question

Why, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms? Why is not all nature in confusion, instead of the species being, as we see them, well defined?… But, as by this theory innumerable transitional forms must have existed, why do we not find them embedded in countless numbers in the crust of the earth?… But in the intermediate region, having intermediate conditions of life, why do we not now find closely-linking intermediate varieties?

Answer 1

the answer is.........apple

Answer 2

How do you know that the forms you're observing today AREN'T transitional? If you accept Steven Jay Gould's theories, evolution occurs in fits and starts, so perhaps we're in a "fits" phase. If you prefer the "slow but steady" theories, it's going on all around you - you can't see every DNA strand in every person, can you? Further, if you don't believe in evolution, why do you need a flu shot every year? The flu strain would never change, so last year's (or last decade's) flu shot would suffice for you forever. As for transitional species, consider that the DNA of chimps is 97+% the same as ours (you can have a blood transfusion from a chimp with no ill effects, did you know that? Pretty nice of God to set that up for us!)

The fossil record supports evolution far more than it detracts from it. Is it so heretical to believe that God used evolution as the mechanism for his Great Plan? Who are you, me, or anyone else to say He didn't? The frustrating part to me is that if God truly made the world in six literal days, he left a lot of evidence to the contrary. Red-shifting of starlight DOES occur - it's a repeatable, provable FACT, and those FACTS tell us that the universe is many billions of years old. Besides, did God really need six whole days to make everything? Couldn't He simply have snapped his fingers and brought it all into being instantly? Maybe it was the only way to explain it all to the people in biblical times...

You might want to consider that evolution explains the "how" of life, and GOD explains the why...

Answer 3

Have you heard of ring species? Imagine an environment at a certain height on a mountain. As you go around the mountain, the species changes every so slightly so that those individuals on opposite sides of the mountain cannot interbreed and so are actually different species. This happens in real life!

This is fairly rare except in rapidly developing species since interbreeding usually manages to homogenize species. This is part of why we see distinct species for most things. However, over time, that 'fixed' species does change gradually because of shifts in the environment. For example, corn today is very different than corn was even a couple of thousand years ago. This is incredibly fast change on the geological scale!

As for fossilization. It requires a collection of fairly unusual circumstances for animal or plant remains to become fossilized. In particular, if there are too many bacteria, the tissues decay and are lost forever. This is why most fossils come from river banks or near oceans. A small covering of mud can be sufficient to give an oxygen-free environment needed to get the fossil. As it is, though, it is like trying to determine a family's history from photographs taken of a few family members every couple of decades. You can tell family resemblance and you can tell that they changed over time, but getting the exact right geneology is usually not possible. We see many transitions, but the transitional forms are, and are expected to be, completely formed species also.

Answer 4

I think you covered this questions some time ago, didn't you?

Anyway, there are a ton of "transitional" fossils that have been discovered. Look at the micro-fossils of the Cambrian Explosion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion

We have several transitional fossils of mankind diverting from other primates. The idea of a "missing link" is a myth. We find a transitional fossil and immediately, people want more. Because of the relatively rareity of something being in the right conditions for fossilization, geological upheavel destroying said fossils, and us actually finding the relatively few samples... we have found quite a bit!

The evidence for evolution is pretty tight. If you seriously think that evolution is incorrect, then you should try to develop a TESTABLE theory that explains all the data to date better that does not rely on supernatural forces.

Side note: Intelligent Design and Creationism are not testable and rely on supernatural forces. Science by definition is a study of the NATURAL world (not supernatural).

Answer 5

Because evolution probably never happened. As hard as creationism is to swallow, it is far more plausible than evolution. Look no further than the law of entropy to prove that. The basis of evolution starts with the big bang. As a tangible proof to the absurdity of the big bang, picture a big messy pile of chopped firewood. If you lit a stick of dynamite and threw it in the pile, what are the odds that the pile would land in a perfect stack upon explosion of the dynamite. Not good, huh. How much more remote are the chances that random matter would form a universe after an explosion? So, if the start of evolution is nonsense, chances are, the rest of the theory is too. Oh, and by the way, Charles Darwin admitted his own theories were absurd later in life.

Answer 6

Wherever we find isolated versions of species, that's exactly what we observe. They're known as ring species.

In an unisolated group, only the offspring of the individuals with the greatest reproductive success will dominate. We wouldn't expect to find lot's a graduations within a given population, because those less successful rapidly get swamped out by those more successful. It's just like feedback in an amplifier. The nondominant tones are very rapidly choked out by resonant tones.

Engineers can actually model these effects in nonlinear positive feedback systems, which is what life is.

Answer 7

Fossilization of remains is a very rare occurrence. It only happens under certain conditions. It is not surprising that fossils are rare... it is surprising that there are as many fossils as there are.

Palentologists are continually filling in gaps in the fossil record... and everything to-date supports evolution... not only in palentology, but also in genetics.

Get used to it... evolution is a complete theory. Even if people stopped looking for fossils today, and never found another one, evolution would STILL be a complete theory. A complete fossil record, showing every gradiation of change of every plant and animal is totally unnecessary... and it is never going to happen.

You need to read some actual science books, and learn what is really going on, rather than getting sucked in by those Liars For Jesus (LFJ) web sites whose only purpose is to mislead the scientifically naive.

Answer 8

purely the mutations that artwork stand a danger of surviving and being handed on to the subsequent technology. the different transitional kinds purely did not live on in large selection. A fewer selection ability fewer fossils to be got here across. no longer each and every bone will change right into a fossil. Many body aspects purely disinigrate decrease back to the dirt. searching for fossils is like looking a needle in a haystack. it must be executed, yet takes time.

Answer 9

It's not easy for a fossil to form, and it's by no means common. There are almost certainly entire extinct species that we don't know about simply because none of their remains ever fossilized. It's especially rare for land-dwelling creatures since fossilization requires sediment and water.

Answer 10

Me thinks you need to read a book or two before asking such stupid questions. DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Evolution is the only reason you are hear and can ask stupid questions. Get educated and find out why your brain is as complex as it is. Or, are you one of those "I believe in a Spirit in the Sky made everything" kinda guys *-)

Answer 11

There were probably a lot of hybrids but only the best adapted were able to compete for resources and the less able died out.
Look at Darwin's finches.