Author Topic: Darwin (Read 19761 times)

AGelbert · « **Reply #45 on:** September 19, 2014, 12:37:23 am »

Evolution’s oyster twist

The oyster, Ostrea sp. (left), was said to have evolved over millions of years into the coiled shell Gryphaea sp.—also known as “the devil’s toenails” (right). But there’s a new ‘twist’ to the story—Gryphaea’s coiling has nothing to do with evolution.

by David Catchpoole

SNIPPET:

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Oysters have the unfortunate distinction that they were one of the first examples of an alleged proof of evolutionary lineage in the fossil record (mooted by paleontologist A.E. Trueman in 1922).1 The ‘flat’ oyster, Ostrea sp., was said to have evolved into the coiled shell Gryphaea sp. Several generations of science students were taught this as ‘one of the best documented cases of evolution’ in the fossil record.

However, today it seems that coiling is a built-in programming response to the environment, i.e. mud-sticking oysters grow into a coiled cup-shaped form, while oysters attaching to firmer substrate2 grow to be ‘flat, fan-shaped recliners’.3 So, coiling is an individual growth response to local environment; not a millions-of-years evolutionary twist.

http://creation.com/oyster-twist

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Author Topic: Darwin (Read 19761 times)

AGelbert

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