Page 218 - The Cambrian Evidence that Darwin Failed to Comprehend
P. 218
The Cambrian Evidence That Darwin Failed to Comprehend
The conclusions drawn by the researchers Douglas H. Erwin,
James W. Valentine and J. J. Sepkowski from their comparison of the
variation in life confirm this:
The fossil record suggests that the major pulse of diversification of
phyla occurs before that of classes, classes before that of orders, orders
before that of families. . . the higher taxa do not seem to have diverged
through an accumulation of lower taxa. 157
By claiming that lower taxa, such as classes and families, would
diverge and vary over time and that species varied from a single
phylum would in turn give rise to other phyla, Darwin assumed a
“bottom-up” development.
Yet the Cambrian explosion reveals the exact opposite, as de-
scribed by the science writer Roger Lewin:
Several possible patterns exist for the establishment of higher taxa, the
two most obvious of which are the bottom-up and the top-down ap-
proaches. In the first, evolutionary novelties emerge, bit by bit... The
Cambrian explosion appears to conform to the second pattern, the
top-down effect. 158
The course of appearance of taxa in the fossil record is top-
down. Moreover, the number of phyla, which should increase by
stages over long periods of time, actually reduces. Fifty different
phyla appeared in the Cambrian, but today there are only around
35. (See “The Fossils Are Examined” section earlier in this book.)
Darwin’s assumptions have been literally overturned in the face of
the fossil record, and paleontology has definitely and clearly invali-
dated his theory.
Refutation of Darwinism No. 2: The cone of diversity is the
exact opposite of what Darwin claimed.
While branching the tree of life, Darwin hypothesized that life
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