Fossil Friday: Evolutionary Stasis in Beetles

academia, adults, amber, antennae, astrology, Basilosaurus, beetles, Carabidae, catching cage, Collembola, Dorudon, Evolution, Fossil Friday (series), Indohyus, K/Pg impact event, larvae, living fossils, Loricera, maxillae, Myanmar, Neo-Darwinism, Pakicetus, paleontology, psychoanalysis, unguided evolution, Wired
Natural selection is the great magician in evolutionary fantasy land, where it explains rapid change in explosive radiations as well as no change at all. Source
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New Scientist: Ichthyosaurs Evolved “Astonishingly Rapidly”

Cartorhynchus, cetaceans, Current Biology, Cymbospondylus youngorum, Darwinian gradualism, dolphins, Early Eocene, Evolution, Fossil Hill, fossil record, Frontiers in Earth Science, Günter Bechly, ichthyosaur, land mammals, Mesozoic, Neo-Darwinism, Nevada, New Scientist, Pakicetus, paleontology, Permian-Triassic extinction, porpoises, Science (journal), Sclerocormus, Tethys Sea, whales
This is a case of evolutionary biology trying to explain away the data that otherwise was not directly expected under their model. Source
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Fact Check: Hawaiian Silverswords Fail the Species Pair Challenge

Argyroxiphium, Arthur G. Hunt, Arthur Hunt, articulated legs, Basilosaurus, bilaterian animals, biology, central nervous system, cichlid fish, compound eyes, Darwinists, dog breeds, Dubautia, Dubautia waialealae, Dunning-Kruger effect, Ediacaran organisms, Evolution, Evolution News, exoskeleton, ferrets, fossil record, gut system, Hawaiian Silverswords, honeycreepers, Joe Felsenstein, John Harshman, Lake Malawi, Life Sciences, Matthew Dickau, molecular clock, mouth parts, no true Scotsman, otters, Pakicetus, Panda's Thumb, Peaceful Science, phenotypic plasticity, Puck Mendelssohn, reading comprehension, Rumraket, Rusophycus, species pair challenge, TimeTree.org, trace fossils, University of Kentucky, Wilkesia, Young Earth Creationists
Even though the differences appear superficially striking, they do not involve any novel body plans (i.e., no new proteins, new tissues, or new organs). Source
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