Page 88 - The Cambrian Evidence that Darwin Failed to Comprehend

The Cambrian Evidence That Darwin Failed to Comprehend

The sweep of anatomical variety reached a maximum right after the
initial diversification of multicellular animals. The later history of life
proceeded by elimination, not expansion. The current earth may hold
more species than ever before, but most are iterations upon a few ba-
sic anatomical designs. (Taxonomists have described more than a half
million species of beetles, but nearly all are minimally altered Xeroxes
of a single ground plan.) In fact, the probable increase in number of
species through time merely underscores the puzzle and paradox.
Compared with the Burgess seas, today’s oceans contain many more
species based upon many fewer anatomical plans. 51
The “elimination” to which Gould refers is the sudden appear-
ance of phyla in the Cambrian and the gradual reduction in their

The variety and particular structures in the Cambrian life forms unearthed in the
Chengjiang region in China are most striking. These creatures possess bodies con-
sisting of various sections, antennae with special functions, the ability to hunt, and
highly complex anatomical structures. The fact that such organisms existed half a
billion or so years ago totally demolishes the theory of evolution.

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