Add cephalopods (octopuses and squid) to the many other groups of complex animals appearing in a geological moment, with no apparent ancestors, in the Cambrian.
The ancestors of modern squid may have existed half a billion years ago – a lot earlier than previously thought.
In a new study, Canadian researchers identified a previously unclassifiable fossil that was long believed to belong perhaps to the shrimp family.
They called it Nectocaris pteryx – a small soft-bodied cephalopod with two tentacles rather than the eight or 10 seen in today’s octopuses.
“appearing in a geological moment”
A assume you know the “geological moment” you’re talking about took millions of years, but perhaps your readers didn’t know it. Now they know.
“Thinking Critically About Theistic Evolution, Design and Apologetics”
It’s an insult to the world’s biologists to attach the worthless adjective “theistic” to evolution.
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I did plenty of research on the Cambrian “explosion.” A lot of claims made about it are false.
I give more info here:
http://evolutionid.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/the-truth-on-the-cambrian-explosion/
It should be mentioned that the Cambrian “explosion” lasted between 10 to 25 million years. . .
That’s fast in geologic terms, but hardly a implausable for evolution to occur in that period of time.
Krissmith,
Your assertions are very one-sided, do not reflect a scientific consensus, and fail to address many of the most perplexing aspects of the Cambrian Explosion. Your comments read like a passionate effort to use selective evidence to downplay a very significant event in order to save the theory of evolution.
I believe in letting the facts speak for themselves.
Many of the best scientists believe that most of the animals appeared over a period of 5 to 10 million years.
You said in your post:
“First of all, it should be pointed out that the Cambrian “explosion” was only explosive in geologic terms.”
Well, of course. It is in the context of the overall geological history of the earth that we are evaluating it.
I wish I had time to address your other assertions. But I don’t.