HURDLE NUMBER 39. THE ABRUPT APPEARANCE HURDLE.
The fossil record comprises a series of sudden or ABRUPT APPEARANCES OF SPECIES, without intermediate forms leading up to them. The problem is that Darwinism absolutely and positively requires the presence of these intermediate forms in the fossil record. Their absence is a massive embarrassment to The Theory of Evolution. The following quotes from authoritative sources substantiate this statement.
The following quote is from the book What Evolution Is, by Ernst Mayr (Professor Emeritus in The Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University), published by Basic Books, 2001, page 189:-
“There seems to be an astonishing CONFLICT BETWEEN THEORY AND OBSERVATION. According to Darwinian theory, evolution - - - - - should - - - be GRADUAL and continuous - - - - ALAS, THIS SEEMS TO BE IN CONFLICT WITH OBSERVATION. Wherever we look at the living biota - - - - discontinuities are overwhelmingly frequent - - - All 30 phyla of animals are separated from each other by A GAP. - - - -The discontinuities are even more striking in the fossil record. NEW SPECIES USUALLY APPEAR IN THE FOSSIL RECORD SUDDENLY, not connected with their ancestors by a series of intermediates.” (My capitals and highlighting.)
The next two quotes are from the book Scientific Creationism, by Henry M. Morris (Ph.D.), published by Master Books, 21st printing 1998:-
Page 79:- The author quotes George Gaylord Simpson (Professor of Zoology at Columbia University, and Curator of the Department of Geology and Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History from 1945 to 1959. He was Curator of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University from 1959 to 1970, and a Professor of Geosciences at the University of Arizona until his retirement in 1982.) “Most new species, genera, and families - - - - APPEAR IN THE (FOSSIL) RECORD SUDDENLY, and are not led up to by known, gradual, completely continuous transitional sequences.”
Page 84:- “The paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson notes that each of the 32 orders of mammals - - - - APPEARS SUDDENLY IN THE FOSSIL RECORD.” (My capitals.)
The next quote is from the book The Encyclopedia of Evolution by Richard Milner, published by Facts On File, 1990, page 14:-
“Angiosperms, or flowering plants - - - seemed to APPEAR SUDDENLY during the Cretaceous Period.” (My capitals.)
The next quote is from the book Evolution a Theory in Crisis by Michael Denton (molecular biologist – He was a senior research fellow in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand from 1990 to 2005), published by Adler and Adler, 1986, page 164:-
“The same pattern is true of the vertebrate fossil record. The first members of each major group APPEAR ABRUPTLY, unlinked to other groups by transitional or intermediate forms.” (My capitals.)
The next quote is from the book – Flaws In The Theory of Evolution, by Doctor Evan Shute (Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons, Canada), published by Craig Press, New Jersey, 8th printing, 1980, page 11:-
“Turtles began as turtles (in the fossil record), and have been almost uniformly the same since the beginnings.” The author then makes the important point that fossil turtles are very common; and if there were prior intermediate forms in the fossil record, paleontologists should have found them.
(My comment:- The very abrupt appearance of turtles in the fossil record, without prior intermediate forms, cannot be dismissed as an “artifact of deposition.” Many animals’ bones might have been destroyed or removed and separated by scavengers. However, all turtle shells would remain intact; and would be readily available in the fossil record. The fossil record SHOULD contain vast numbers of turtle shells AND VAST NUMBERS OF THE INTERMEDIATE SPECIES “LEADING UP TO” TURTLES. Turtles really DID appear SUDDENLY. This fact is totally and absolutely contrary to Darwinian theory. This means that Darwinian theory must be wrong!)
The next quote is from the book Difficulties of The Evolution Theory, by Douglas Dewar (F.Z.S.), published by Edward Arnold, London, 1931, page 109:-
“The earliest known fossils of each class and order are not half-made or half-developed forms, but exhibit fully developed all the characteristics of their class or order.” Dewar then provides an example:-
“In the Ordovician appear SUDDENLY:- Foramanifera; Three Echinoderm classes; The Ammonites; The Nautiloidea; Four orders of Bryozoa; The Ostracodes (water fleas); The Cirrhipedes. NO FOSSIL HAS BEEN DISCOVERED INTERMEDIATE BETWEEN ANY OF THE ABOVE GROUPS AND ANY OTHER FORM. - - - - - If the evolution theory be true, every one of the scores of families that compose the above groups must be linked by a chain of forms to the particular family from which it evolved. IF SUCH CHAINS EXISTED, is it credible that NOT A SINGLE FOSSIL REPRESENTING ANY OF THEM SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED?” (My capitals.)