Re: Darwin and Punctuated Equilibrium

On Jun 21, 6:53 am, Ron O <rokim...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

It is relative too. Darwin was confronted with the proposition that
the earth could be no more than 300 million years old. The estimate
came from physicists that didn't know about radioactive decay or
nuclear fusion. Geologists were claiming that the earth was probably
older, and Darwin was associated with them, but Darwin had to admit
that if 300 million years is all that he had, that is all that he
had. All evolution of life would be considered punctuated under this
limit. The punctuated evolutionary guys like Gould were claiming that
the rapid evolution that they were observing in the fossil record was
occurring within 10,000 and 100,000 years, and they were talking about
a few new bumps on a trilobite or some other noticable change in size
or shape of the type of specimens they were finding.


Here's interesting background on trilobites from www.TheDragonOption.com

The universe began approximately fifteen billions years ago
in the deafening lifeless silence of the big bang. Some ten billion
years later, the Earth made its debut. A billion years or so after
that, the first one celled organisms began our dance of life. That was
nearly four billion years ago.

As the Earth's crust cooled, it settled into continental
shapes somewhat similar to those we know today. Under the influence of
tectonic forces, these elevated fragments would periodically be forced
together to form supercontinents. These supercontinents would remain
intact for a few hundred millions years and then break apart into
their constituent continental fragments. Over time, this process of
congregating and dissociating would repeat itself over and over again.
Though its existence is debatable, a proto-supercontinent, Yilgarn,
may have formed as early as four and a half billion years ago, shortly
after Earth's formation. However, the first recognized supercontinent
was Vaalbara which coalesced around three billion years ago while
single celled organisms still ruled the planet. After its breakup, the
second supercontinent, Kenorland, was in formation some two and a half
billion years ago when multicellular organisms first appeared.
Kenorland, in turn, broke apart and was succeeded by the third
supercontinent, Nuna (also called Columbia), around one and a half
billion years ago. It then separated and reformed about one billion
years ago as the fourth supercontinent Rodinia which, in turn, lasted
for some two hundred and fifty million years before its dissolution.
Pannotia, also known as the Vendian supercontinent, may have briefly
appeared around six hundred million years ago, but its existence, like
Yilgarn's, is also disputed. Either way, from Yilgarn to Kenorland,
life was strictly unicellular, while from Kenorland through Pannotia
it remained close to the rudimentary multicellular stage.

It was not until Pangea, the fifth and final official
supercontinent which started to form around five hundred million years
ago that organisms began to evolve rapidly. Trilobites, arthropods
with large exoskeletons that bear a striking resemblance to today's
horseshoe crabs dominated the land. While early versions of these
extinct creatures were less than a millimeter long, later varieties
grew up to twenty-eight inches in length. Of note, some trilobites had
eyes with upwards of fifteen thousand microscopic lenses in each one.
They disappeared around the time that Pangea broke up into the sub-
supercontinents of Laurasia and Gondwana, around two hundred and fifty
million years ago. By then, evolution had unveiled fish, small
reptiles, and a wide spectrum of plant life which covered both land
masses. Amongst these reptiles were the theriodontias, our pre-
mammalian ancestors.

As Laurasia and Gondwana moved apart, the former heading
north and the latter moving south, dinosaurs ruled the Earth until
their extinction some sixty-five million years ago. By that time,
Laurasia had divided into the major northern continents we know today:
North America, Mexico, Central America, Europe and Asia (minus India).
Gondwana, on the other hand, would take another sixty million years or
so to regress into the southern hemisphere's major land masses: South
America, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. About half way through the
dinosaurs' age of domination, India, originally part of Gondwana,
broke apart from Antarctica and headed toward the northern hemisphere.
Along the way, about ninety million years ago, it dropped off
Madagascar by the southeastern edge of Africa before slamming itself
into Asia. During its journey, the six mile wide Chicxulub Meteor
landed near the Yucatan Peninsula, bringing the dinosaurs' reign to
and end. Thus began the age of mammals.

Quoted from:

www.TheDragonOption.com

For more about trilobites, see topic:

www.TheDragonOption.com/chapter3.html#topic02




.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Darwin and Punctuated Equilibrium
    ... the earth could be no more than 300 million years old. ... However, the first recognized supercontinent ... It does appear that the assembly of Gondwana ... Laurasia had divided into the major northern continents we know today: ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: The Psychology of a Creationist
    ... Here's interesting background on trilobites from www.TheDragonOption.com ... However, the first recognized supercontinent ... Kenorland, in turn, broke apart and was succeeded by the third ... As Laurasia and Gondwana moved apart, ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: A message from Sean Pitman
    ... years or less during the long reign of trilobites from 525 to ... However, the first recognized supercontinent ... Kenorland, in turn, broke apart and was succeeded by the third ... As Laurasia and Gondwana moved apart, ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: 50th anniversary of largest earthquake in history
    ... So much for the "Is a M10 possible" question. ... Pangea is not the only supercontinent Earth has ever had. ... This is not science, however, since it can't be falsified: ...
    (sci.geo.earthquakes)
  • Re: The Moon, Pangea and Drakes Equation
    ... Several continents may have been fused together into smaller supercontinents after each hypercontinent broke up. ... One could even say that we live on a major supercontinent now which includes everything except Antarctica. ... I'm sure that in the past even Pangaea didn't really look like one single supercontinent, it must've been riddled with inland seas which made various parts of it seem like separate continents from the air. ... Sun Will Vaporize Earth Unless We Can Change Our Orbit ...
    (sci.astro)