Replies

ml/nj: "So you seem to be more up to date on this than University of Chicago professors Coyne and Orr and any of their colleagues they refer to as "modern evolutionists."

No, but if it's important to you, I can be.
My first source, going back about 15 years, on how to deal with these questions was Eugenie Scott.

ml/nj: "So teach me: Do you believe new species evolve over many generations or does speciation happen from one generation to the next?"

Ha!, which came first, the chicken or the egg? ;-)

The answer is: words like "species", "genus", "family", etc., are all artificial constructs and matters of definition.
With the recent advent of DNA analyses some critters have been redefined as more or less closely related than previously believed.
The critters themselves never changed, not one bit, but suddenly we see them in a different light.

Today the rough dividing line is genus -- within a genus breeds, sub-species & species can at least sometimes interbreed.
But between two genera species cannot naturally interbreed, so that is a hard & fast line of division.
But everything else is pretty much a matter of definitions & interpretations.
When exactly does a different population become a "breed" (or race)?
When are different breeds considered separate sub-species?
How does a sub-species become a different species?
It's all definitions & interpretations.

Well known examples include Indian & African elephants -- cannot interbreed so are classified as separate genera.
Polar Bears & Brown Bears were thought to also be separate genera until it was discovered they do interbreed in nature, occasionally, so now they are just separate species in the same genus.

Bottom line: setting aside cross-breeding, no mother ever gave birth to a different species, but a common ancestor, say, a million generations ago, might well give rise to several different species.

Is that the answer you hoped for?

no mother ever gave birth to a different species, but a common ancestor, say, a million generations ago, might well give rise to several different species.

Lots of words to answer a simple question.

All species have characteristic chromosome numbers. For us humans it's 23 pairs. Sometimes humans are born with the wrong number of pairs (usually 24) but none of those ever have produced a grandchild, SFAIK. Apes have 24 pairs. So tell me: how did we go from 22 or 24 or whatever pairs to 23 pairs except from mother to child?

[You may consult Eugene Scott, whoever he is or was.]

ML/NJ

Bottom line: setting aside cross-breeding, no mother ever gave birth to a different species, but a common ancestor, say, a million generations ago, might well give rise to several different species.

"Is that the answer you hoped for?

It's as good as Joe's!"

Is it possible...?