If evolution is tru then why have crocodiles not evolved?

Question

Or ape and monkey they are still around. I know they have not reached the pinnacle of evolution else they be human like maybe.

danmerqur explain why for tens of millions of years they stopped evolving?

What proof is there that reptiles evolve slower?

What proof is there there top of the food chain stops evolving. then why are there still animals at the bottom of the food chain, shouldn't they have evolved and not be at the bottom no more?

reverse the question, who do you know they still are evolving, I am not claiming evolution happened.

Steve and who decided they no longer need to evolve further. I though mutations happen over time - have crocodiles, apes and monkeys stopped having gene mutations?

I have had conflicting answers, some say they are still evolving albeit slowly and some say they stopped and reached the sumit of their species. So no more species will branch from them. So what makes these creatures so exotic?

danmerqur... you ask me to do the research but you are the one claiming knowledge so pass on the proof you have learned.

further, antibiotic resistance is NOT classical evidence of evolution. They are still the same bacteria and viruses they have not evolved into new species as evolution theory requires.

Answer 1

It shows that many people can make claims of evolution yet if humans evolved from apes then you would logically expected all apes to have evolved to some degree during the time scale of human evolution. But apes appear to have got stuck in evolutionary molasses and not changed if any.
People say that millions of years are required yet according to evolution theory humans evolved extremely rapidly into a completely new species even in a very short space of time. Yet apes have hardly evolved even with to their own species.
The theory gets stuck in the mud in many ways that science has failed to find answers and it is only faith that they expect to find them.

To persue nnjamerson's comment below, it is likely that some bacteria's and viruses may have an already built in defense mechanism which causes them to find resistance to toxins and attacks which would be not attributed to evolution as such but an already built-in defence mechanism similar to our own immune system. I know when we are immune from chicken pox it is not evolution playing a part but a built in defense system playing it's role. Where as each human needs immunisation because of our biological complexity and gene pool a virus and a bacteria are more precise in reproduction thus the traits are passed on.

Answer 2

The reply by spadesboffin above kinda answered the question though seemed to be confirming what you might think, that we do not see evolution/change in some species.

Sadly, i disagree. Over a certain period of time some species can evolve quickly- we could say we all see 'clear adaptations'. Others species have only changed slightly over time - we could say 'slight observed differences from ancestral forms', while other species do not appear to have changed much at all over time - typically in species which have experienced 'stasis'.

Its not the time that makes species change (evolve) it is the strength and direction of selective pressures over time. Strong selection acting over a long period of time can lead to lots of obsevered changes, ie many differencess from ancestors. If there are weak selective forces, or there are constraining selective forces, a species might not change much at all over a very long time period.

Back to crocodiles, during the time of the dinosaurs (>65 million yrs ago), there were crocodiles that looked much like they do today. Since, new species of crocodiles have emerged, others have gone extinct. Some, have evolved, outwardly looking similar, not identical. The changes might be slight, like generally being smaller, or perhaps the crest size is less. Most outward signs of evolution are very tiny and obscure, but they are there. Modern species of any creature are different from ancestral forms.

As for bacteria and antibiotic resisance. Modification in a species through the generations is evolution. The 'theory' of evolution is not just about how new species arise, but also how they change through time. Bacteria evolve, very rapidly sometimes, and ALSO give rise to new bacterial species rapidly. We just need to obseve very many differences between different forms of organisms to call the different species. If there are very few/tiny differences among individuals, we often call similar things the same species. Many differences = different species.

Answer 3

Animals evolve to adapt to their environment, not to reach some concept of a pinnacle of evolution. Insects are quite happy to occupy their lower rung, thereby avoiding stresses from such things as final exams.

A creature which is already highly adapted to its environment has little to gain by continuing to change, although mother nature will continue to tweak the system for any possible upgrade. It may be able to migrate to new environments via change, but that does not mean those left behind must change too. For instance, mammals stranded on islands tend to downgrade in size to fit with a smaller food source, whilst their continental brethren stay larger.

But this is all pointless, since your question reveals how intelligent discourse should be limited to those actively seeking to understand the world we live in.

Answer 4

Crocodiles did and do continue to evolve.
If you were able to catch the special on National Geographic, you would have discovered that the ancestors of crocodiles used to be gargantuan in size, big enough to prey on dinosaurs. So from being creatures of such size, they have evolved into a specie that is smaller in size.

Answer 5

1. It takes millenia, if not longer.

2. They have. They have evolved from more primitive reptiles millions of years ago, such as dinosaurs. And we have fossil proof.

Re 1st Detail: Bah! I'm tired of hearing that one. Apes and humans coexist today because they split off from a common ancestor. They haven't followed one chain of evolution.

Re 2nd Detail: They have. Check the fossil record. Crocodiles were radically different tens of millions of years ago. Stop making things up.

Also: If you're denying evolution, then how come antibiotics don't work as well as they used to back in the 60's? Bacteria have evolved to be resistant to antibiotics. Because they reproduce so fast, natural selection happens much quicker than in larger species. The antibiotics killed off most of the bacteria, leaving the strong and resistant ones behind, which reproduced. Now penicillin is far less effective as it once was.

Re 6th Detail: Well this shows you know nothing about the mechanics of natural selection. The weak are killed before they can reproduce, and the strong survive to make strong young animals, and the cycle repeats. If crocodiles have no natural predators, then the weak live on, and natural selection and evolution does not occur.

Answer 6

Into what?
Is there an environmental need to change rapidly?
You've checked all the catalysts and agents of change, and they are present? I have not heard of any. The planet is actually very stable now. The oxygen and other gases are stable. You've missed something?
Humans just have an overriding NEED to watch the change, except it takes MILLIONS of years - and today nothing is changing - BOO HOO for us. Have children, and pass along your desire to their great great great greatgreatgreatgreatgreratgreatgreatgreat x100 grand children - Ok?

Answer 7

Things evolve when there is a need. Crocodiles have not needed to evolve, much. They have evolved over time into what they are now.

Answer 8

How do you know they haven't and are still evolving at present the same as every other living thing.

Answer 9

They're at the top of their food chain, no need to evolve.

Answer 10

Evolution is a lie created by a science fiction writer who was in a slump. He was an athiest who was angry with God. He even said it was fiction when he published ''the origin of the species''.