Re: Still waiting

In message <PradnZxNZO_vo1XVnZ2dnUVZ_obinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Steven L. <sdlitvin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
richardalanforrest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
To "adman":
Please explain why Archaeopteryx should not be considered a
transitional form.

I'm not a creationist,
but I can think of a possible argument:

For Archaeopteryx to be truly "transitional" in the usual sense, and not just "intermediate," it has to be established as the ancestor of modern birds.

Archaeopteryx is certainly *intermediate*--it has bird characteristics but also reptilian characteristics.

But it could still be an evolutionary dead end which has left no modern bird descendants. Just one of many blind alleys in the history of life.

Perhaps other intermediate species provided the actual transition from reptiles to modern birds.


If a creationist insists on restricting transitional fossils to phylogenetic intermediates (i.e., excluding morphological intermediates) then that creationist cannot in good conscience argue that the lack of confirmed phylogenetic intermediates in the fossil record be evidence against the factuality of common descent with modification.
--
alias Ernest Major

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Still waiting
    ... For Archaeopteryx to be truly "transitional" in the usual sense, and not just "intermediate," it has to be established as the ancestor of modern birds. ... Archaeopteryx is certainly *intermediate*--it has bird characteristics but also reptilian characteristics. ... Perhaps other intermediate species provided the actual transition from reptiles to modern birds. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Invulnerable logic [Was:Re: How Our Brains Ignore Unpleasant
    ... transition. ... Archaeopteryx is an excellent transitional ... had feathers, and probably flew, but it sure wasn't a modern bird. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Invulnerable logic [Was:Re: How Our Brains Ignore Unpleasant
    ... transition. ... Archaeopteryx is an excellent transitional ... had feathers, and probably flew, but it sure wasn't a modern bird. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Poor Darwin
    ... scientific evidence, and I suggest that you check any claims made there ... and Archaeopteryx is an excellent example of a transitional ... > If you want to discuss something lets talk about the transition from the Ug ... there is extensive fossil evidence for the evolution of mankind. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: For Harshman: ITS OVER. I MEAN, REALLY OVER.
    ... >> There are birds that have been found that are older than archaeopteryx ... Some scientists complain that the older birds than archaeopteryx ... it was a surprise to me that paleontologists had pretty much given up trying to find transitional forms that were true ancestors of the successor species. ... Evidently their concept of "transitional form" isn't the same as the popular notion of a transition. ...
    (talk.origins)