HURDLE NUMBER 48. THE TRANSITIONAL FORMS HURDLE.
The following quote is from the book A Challenge to Evolutionists by Douglas Dewar, (Fellow of The Zoological Society), 3rd edition, 1948, published by Uplift Books (Croydon) Ltd., pages 25 to 27:-
“The following kinds of animals have skeletons very unlike those of other creatures:- bats, whales, dugongs, seals, kangaroos - - - snakes, turtles - - - - - frogs, toads - - - - Each of these must have a long line of ancestors transitional between it and its ordinary shaped ancestor, and NUMBERS OF FOSSILS OF THESE TRANSITIONAL FORMS OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN FOUND. ON THE CONTRARY, NOT ONE HAS BEEN FOUND. Dozens of fossils of bats have been found, and - - -whales, dugongs, and seals, but NOT A SINGLE FOSSIL OF THEIR HALF-FORMED ANCESTORS. The earliest known fossil bats are perfect bats; so with the cetaceans (ie:- whales), dugongs, seals, kangaroos, etc - - The only explanation the evolutionists can give is to allege the imperfection of our knowledge of the fossil record. - - - - - There are today 41 genera of whales, sirenians (ie:- dugongs) and seals. 29 of these 41 (genera), ie:- about 70 percent have been found as fossils. - - - - - - - - Cetaceans, Sireneans, Seals,Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and Turtles - - - - if they derived from land animals, there must have existed for each of these six groups at least a dozen genera of intermediate forms. Thus for these six groups, at least 72 genera of intermediate ancestors must have existed, and fossils of about 70 percent of these, that is of 51 SUCH GENERA OF INTERMEDIATES OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED, BUT NOT ONE HAS BEEN FOUND.” (My capitals and highlighting.)
The next quote is from the book Difficulties of The Evolution Theory, by Douglas Dewar (Fellow of the Zoological Society), published by Edwin Arnold. 1931. Pages 147 to 149:-
Dewar continues discussion of the absence of intermediate fossils in the fossil record. He tells us that a survey of mammals now living in India - - - - shows that that fossils of 61 of the 116 genera of mammals now living in India have been found. - - - Dewar now states that “The above data - - - demonstrates that THE IMPERFECTION OF THE GEOLOGICAL RECORD IS NOT NEARLY SO GREAT AS IT IS USUALLY SAID TO BE, CLEARLY. - - - - If organisms ancestral to the great groups of animals existed, hundreds of their fossils - - - ought to have been unearthed ere now.” (My capitals.)
The next quote is from the book Is Evolution Proved? A Debate Between Douglas Dewar (Fellow of The Zoological Society) and H.S. Skelton, published by Hollis and Carter, London, 1947, page 78:-
Dewar tells us that “MOLLUSKS - - - - ARE READILY FOSSILIZED - - - - In some groups (of Mollusks) fossils of 100 percent of living genera have been found - - - - - - More than 220 new families of mollusks have appeared between the Cambrian and Eocene periods. - - - MORE THAN 1,200 INTERMEDIATE GENERA OF MOLLUSKS MUST HAVE EXISTED - - - OF WHICH NO FOSSIL SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN FOUND. IF THIS LARGE NUMBER OF INTERMEDIATE GENERA REALLY EXISTED, IS IT CREDIBLE THAT NONE OF THEIR FOSSILS SHOULD OCCUR?” (My capitals and highlighting.)
The next quote is from the book The Biotic Message, by Walter Remine, published by St Paul Science, 1993, pages 303 to 305:-
The author provides some quotes from authoritative sources regarding the “gaps” in the fossil record:-
Quoting Stephen Jay Gould (Harvard University promoted Gould to Professor of Geology and Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at the institution's Museum of Comparative Zoology.):- “THE ABSENCE OF FOSSIL EVIDENCE FOR INTERMEDIATE STAGES - - - has been a persistent problem for gradualistic accounts of evolution.” (My capitals.)
Quoting from the book The New Evolutionary Timetable, Fossils, Genes and The Origin of Species – by S.M. Stanley, 1981. (Steven M. Stanley (born November 2, 1941) is an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is best known for his empirical research documenting the evolutionary process of punctuated equilibrium in the fossil record.):- “THE KNOWN FOSSIL RECORD HAS NEVER BEEN IN ACCORD WITH GRADUALISM.” (My capitals.)
Here is a quote from the article Paleontology and Evolutionary Theory, by David B. Kitts (School of Geology and Geophysics, Department of the History of Science, University of Oklahoma), published in (the journal) Evolution, Volume 28, Number 3 (September, 1974), pages 458 to 472:-
(Page 467):- “Despite the bright promise that paleontology provides a means of “seeing” evolution, it has presented some nasty difficulties for evolutionists the most notorious of which is the presence of “gaps” in the fossil record. EVOLUTION REQUIRES INTERMEDIATE FORMS BETWEEN SPECIES AND PALEONTOLOGY DOES NOT PROVIDE THEM.”
The next quote is from the book The Myths of Human Evolution, by Niles Eldredge and Ian Tattersall (In 1969, Niles Eldredge became a curator in the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, and subsequently a curator in the Invertebrate Paleontology section. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York.):- “THE FOSSIL RECORD FLATLY FAILS TO SUBSTANTIATE THE EXPECTATION OF FINELY GRADED CHANGE. - - - - - - (and) - - - - The (fossil) gaps we see reflect real events in life’s history – NOT THE ARTIFACT OF A POOR FOSSIL RECORD.” (My capitals.)
The next quote is from the book The facts of Life – Shattering The Myths of Darwinism, by Richard Milton, published by Fourth Estate, 1992, page 104:-
The author quotes Darwin:- Darwin also gloomily confessed in The Origin of Species that “The number of intermediate varieties which have formerly existed on Earth MUST BE TRULY ENORMOUS. WHY THEN IS NOT EVERY GEOLOGICAL FORMATION AND EVERY STRATUM FULL OF SUCH INTERMEDIATE LINKS? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, IS THE MOST OBVIOUS AND GRAVEST OBJECTION WHICH CAN BE URGED AGAINST MY THEORY.” (My capitals,)
In the next quote, even Richard Dawkins admits to the “fossil gaps”. This is quite an admission coming from such a vigorous proponent of Darwinism! This quote is from the book The Greatest Show on Earth; The Evidence For Evolution, by Richard Dawkins, published by Free Press, 2009, pages 164 to 165:-
“ One of the most famous gaps in the fossil record - - - Romer’s Gap (A.S. Romer was a famous American paleontologist) - - - - After Romer’s gap we find unequivocal amphibians - - - - and before his gap,. Romer could see only fish - - - - (Now Dawkins asks) “WHERE WERE THE INTERMEDIATES?” (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 173:-
“De Beer concedes that THERE ARE NO FOSSIL FORMS BRIDGING THE GAPS BETWEEN PHYLA.” (My capitals and highlighting.)
(Note:- Sir Gavin Rylands de Beer FRS (1 November 1899 – 21 June 1972) was a British evolutionary embryologist, known for his work on heterochrony as recorded in his 1930 book Embryos and Ancestors. He was director of the Natural History Museum, London, president of the Linnean Society of London, and a winner of the Royal Society's Darwin Medal for his studies on evolution.)