Addresses of All Authors
Kenner, LA
Author's Biography
B. S. Physics, M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction, M.A. Science Teaching
LA lifetime secondary certification in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, General Science, Mathematics
Taught on Creation and Apologetics in 13 countries
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Proposal
This is a poster presentation bringing together multiple problems with the idea that some ancestral fish evolved into some ancestral amphibian.
The Lamarckian idea that "form follows function" has been thoroughly falsified. The only explanation for characteristics of an organism's phenotype is the content of its genotype rather than its need for new features.
The new creatures would have to undergo random mutations in their DNA to produce at least thirteen major changes. They would have to (1) leave the water and come onto land, (2) acquire two radically different types of vertebrae (rhachitomous and lepospondylous); (3) acquire segmented backbones in place of a continuous notochord; (4) develop legs instead of fine, (5) develop a pelvic girdle where none existed before; (5) acquire a mechanism to propel themselves with the legs instead of fins, (6) develop muscles strong enough to support their weight on land, (7) develop a breathing apparatus geared primarily to air, (8) develop necks which are not found in fish, (9) acquire a different number and arrangement of bones in the skull, (10) develop eardrums for the first time, (11) acquire eyelids to keep the eyes from drying out, (12) change the method of fertilization from internal as in the alleged ancestral fish to external as in all known amphibians, and (13) acquire a mechanism so as to undergo metamorphosis, which does not occur in the putative ancestral fish.
In addition to the biological problems, the evidence from paleontology indicates that such an evolutionary process did not happen. Tracks of four-limbed creatures have been found in at least four locations around the world. They are dated 395 MYA. The commonly accepted “transition” from water to land, Tiktaalik, is dated 383 MYA. Even if the time scale were correct, this is 12 million years too late.
In short, the biological and paleontological evidence indicates that the evolution of fish to amphibians never happened.
Disciplines
Geology
Keywords
Amphibian evolution
DOI
10.15385/jpicc.2023.9.1.77
Print Reference
686
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Recommended Citation
Prentice, David
(2023)
"Unresolved Issues in Hypothetical Fish-to-Amphibian Evolution,"
Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism: Vol. 9, Article 75.
DOI: 10.15385/jpicc.2023.9.1.77
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings/vol9/iss1/75
Submission Type
poster