Revisiting convergence: using teeth (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, November 28, 2020, 22:11 (1245 days ago) @ David Turell

A new study in vertebrates finds identical evolution in different environments:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201123085322.htm

"Palaeontologists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the University of Calgary in Canada have provided new proof of parallel evolution: conodonts, early vertebrates from the Permian period, adapted to new habitats in almost identical ways despite living in different geographical regions. The researchers were able to prove that this was the case using fossil teeth found in different geographical locations.

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"Emilia Jarochowska's research focuses on evolution in different ecosystems, but rather than studying animals which are still alive today she concentrates on conodonts, organisms which lived in the sea approximately 500 to 200 million years ago and were one of the first vertebrates. The cone-shaped teeth of the eel-like organisms can still be found as micro fossils in sedimentary rocks across the globe. Scientists estimate that there were roughly 3000 different species of conodonts. 'Scientists have suspected for several years now that a certain subspecies known as Conodont Sweetognathus developed several parallel evolutionary adaptations,'

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"'As we now have such a good knowledge of tectonics over the history of the Earth, we can rule out the possibility that organisms from these regions were ever in contact with each other.'

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"The painstaking analysis of the morphologies in the dental elements confirmed what scientists have suspected for years: Conodont Sweetognathus adapted repeatedly in response to different food sources after emigrating to new habitats in an almost identical fashion in spite of these habitats being isolated from each other. Comparing samples from a large number of fossils over a number of years has now allowed researchers to confirm without a doubt that the teeth found in Bolivia and Russia come from organisms with a common ancestor. 'We were able to prove that two lineages of Sweetognathus in two different parts of the world followed the same developmental pattern,' Emilia Jarochowska explains. 'That is further proof for the theory of evolution -- and for the effectiveness of international collaboration.'"

Comment: I'm not sure the conclusion is correct. Plate tectonics say they were separated on different plates. Shouldn't this be simple convergence, that is parallel similar development in separate places? Conway-Morris uses convergence to point to God as the designer.