Evolution: more gaps in foraminifera (Evolution)

by David Turell , Thursday, October 18, 2018, 00:51 (2016 days ago) @ David Turell

Another look at the sudden change in forms:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181017110950.htm

"Planktonic foraminifera (forams) -- tiny, shelled organisms that float in the sea -- left behind one of the most complete fossil records of evolutionary history in deep sea deposits. Consequently, evolutionists have a relatively sturdy grasp on when and how new lineages arose and developed their own unique features. However, a study publishing October 17 in the journal iScience reveals that one foram lineage evolved much more rapidly than everyone predicted, and researchers are looking beyond Darwin's original theories of gradual evolution to understand why.

"'It was an exciting moment. What our study and many others are starting to agree on is that evolution of forams is not necessarily gradual, as Darwin and more recent scientists thought," says first author Russell Bicknell, a palaeontologist at the University of New England's Palaeoscience Research Centre in Australia. "Life can exist for long periods of time exhibiting only minor changes followed by rapid, punctuated shifts."

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"'The abrupt change in the shape of Truncorotalia's shell shows that foram lineages can evolve rapidly, explosively, and dramatically," says Bicknell. "That points to more complex evolutionary dynamics than previously thought and justifies a re-evaluation of the evolutionary dynamics of other foram lineages."

"The researchers think either of two post-Darwinian theories could describe the rapid changes they observed: punctuated equilibrium and quantum evolution. Punctuated equilibrium describes short bursts and subsequent steady periods of morphological change within a lineage. The theory of quantum evolution describes broader, rapid splits into new families, orders, and classes. If the theory fits, the researchers have potentially observed quantum evolution at a species level for the first time. In either case, the researchers believe previous theories of gradual evolution in foram lineages need reassessment.

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"'Evolution is so much more complicated than we think," says Bicknell. "How, when, and why evolutionary changes occur constantly surprise us. It is one of the reasons working in evolution is so much fun.'"

Comment: It is best to abandon Darwin's theory of evolution, because staying with his presumptions slows real research.