Why can't we find important fossils which document evolution?

Question

We might also expect to find evolution still occurring today. Why does it appear to have stopped?

Answer 1

You are wise to have noticed the glaring flaw in the evolution theory. Many of the "recreated dinosaurs" in museum were inspired by small fragments of bone turned over to so called experts with imaginations that ran amok. The Darwin case was based primarily on a study of birds on a small island with one main food source, a bush that had trumpet like flowers that the long beaked birds drew nectar from. As the birds with slightly longer beaks had an advantage to reaching the food supply, in a matter of a short time, the longer beaked birds were greater in number. This was a matter of survival of the fittest for the environment, but the DNA was not altered one bit. Of course, we did not know of DNA then. My sister raises canaries, and has bred for exquisite coloring. This has been accomplished in a matter of six or seven years. Haven't tested them, but my educated guess is that there has been no DNA change that would make them anything but canaries of a different color, but still just canaries.

Answer 2

Actually, we often do find new fossils which document another tiny segment of the very long history of evolution. The problem is that evolution happens on a time scale which is totally alien to our thinking. Everytime a new fossil is found which fits neatly between two well-known fossils, an ignorant Creationist comes along and proudly exclaims, "Look, two more gaps in the fossil record."

Evolution has not stopped and is still proceeding at its usual pace -- far too slowly for individual humans to appreciate. Geneticists often use fruit flies, which can reproduce every three days, so they can directly observe evolution. The fruit flies go through 120 of their generations in just one of our years. It would take 2400 years for humans to create 120 generations. Get it?

Answer 3

We have found important fossils that document evolution. We haven't just haven't found all steps fossilized but the record is more than accurate to document instances of evolution. I can't recommend the excellent articles on talkorigin covering evolution and fossilization enough. I believe that the last link has a pretty comprehensive introduction to the fossil evidence.

Answer 4

I read in a book that dogs started off as land mammals and then went into the ocean as something similar to whales and then came back to being land mammals. I have yet to see a fossil of any of these stages.

Also, the last dinosaur was supposed to have lived some 65 million years ago, let alone the Triassic period, which was what, 125 million years ago? And then the Precambrian period...don't get me started. the Cretaceous period is far enough in the distant past. That's 65 millions of years of plate tectonics, volcanic eruption, glaciers advancing and retreating, the earth's crust recycling, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, continents forming, and who knows what else...

...and yet we found some preserved dinosaur skin? At the rate of crust turnover, isn't it nearly statistically impossible to even find intact dinosaur bones from that long ago? And yet we have thousands of nearly complete skeletons (with some artificial additions, of course) all around the world?

Answer 5

the main convincing information (in my suggestions) is each and all the molecular and genetic information. in case you like a super, user-friendly to stay with clarification, bypass get the Evolution one 0 one podcast from iTunes via Dr. Zach Moore. initiate with episode 108 (the molecular biology primer); each and each episode is approximately 10 minutes long, they're unfastened and he does an unbelievable job of condensing approximately 3-4 weeks well worth of a school evolutionary biology into an exceedingly available clarification.

Answer 6

A lot of fossils have been found supporting evolution. And there is plenty of evidence that evolution is continuing.

An important thing to remember is that evolution is a process that takes tens of millions of years. Anything that takes that long is going to be so slow that it's almost imperceptible, especially to creatures with lifespans that barely reach a hundred years.

Answer 7

The world wasn't around long enough for evolution to occur.

Answer 8

No, No my Dear, U would have to have Something "Evolve Physically", (living then dying) to leave traces that "Evolution" is a "Fact", which so far, it Ain't!!! BUT Don't Lose Heart!!! Our "Education System Today" is Actively working on it to see that It Will Happen!!! They are "Dumbing Down" our "Young Skulls Full of Mush" SOOOOO Much, that shortly we will see them turn back into True APES!!! John

Answer 9

Evolution takes millions of years. If you want to see evolution at work visit the Galapagos Islands...biginsmall I suggest you look up the word EVOLUTION.

Answer 10

We have found thousands of important fossils that clearly document the fact of evolution. You mean why haven't we found them all yet?? For the same reason we haven't found all the facts about treating cancer. Research takes time. Still, the sheer volume of evidence supporting and explaining evolution makes it one of the two best supported theories in all of science, the other one being the atomic theory that forms the foundation of science itself. (You do realize that the existence of atoms is "only a theory"??)

The natural process of evolution never stops. It cannot, by its very nature. If it did, life on earth would begin to disappear, as organisms became increasingly unsuited for a changing environment.