Turtle history: no shell fossil (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, August 26, 2018, 08:50 (2083 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Turtles have no known fossil sequence, so they are still out of no where. Doesn't prove anything, but they are so unusual in phenotype they are somewhat like whales to create wonder why they bothered to develop.

dhw: This article provides a link in the chain of common descent, which you profess to believe in. There are of course loads and loads of missing links. Fossils are rarities. Just this one from 230 million years ago. I’m surprised that you are starting to believe in organisms that come from nowhere, as opposed to coming from other organisms. This would certainly go against everything you learned during your medical training! And I’m delighted to see you wondering why they bothered to develop, which is a clear indication of autonomy. I’d have expected you to wonder why your God bothered to preprogramme them 3.8 billion years ago or to personally dabble them!

DAVID: You always point on any statement that suggests I left out God. I feel God developed turtles as part of the balance of nature. Whatever forebear they came from, the changes required were much less than for whales, but turtles lead a problematic land life due to their armored phenotype. Sea turtles seem to handle it better. Either way it is a cumbersome body style.

No problem. Thank you for dropping your statement that they are “out of nowhere” and for correcting your wondering "why they bothered to develop" to wondering why God bothered to develop them. You could ask the same about pointy eggs and weaverbird nests etc. etc. The rest of your comment is fine with me but has nothing to do with what I wrote.