Turtle history: no shell fossil (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, August 26, 2018, 15:39 (2083 days ago) @ dhw

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.

dhw: 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.

Out of nowhere implies the lack of an evolutionary trail. There might not be one, if God chose to invent without evolving.