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To: donh
"Finding a modern cylindroleberid in the Silurian clashes with molecular data, which suggest that the group and related families originated relatively recently, says evolutionary biologist Todd Oakley of the University of California, Santa Barbara."
209 posted on 12/08/2003 8:14:48 AM PST by bondserv (Alignment is critical.)
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To: bondserv
"Finding a modern cylindroleberid in the Silurian clashes with molecular data,

A statement of overwhelming merit--if you happen to have the DNA of that silurian to compare with its modern cousins' DNA.

Creatures maintain physical form through substantial DNA drift--most multi-cellulars change much more in response to viruses than to environmental changes that would reflect in changes in physical morphology.

which suggest that the group and related families originated relatively recently, says evolutionary biologist Todd Oakley of the University of California, Santa Barbara."

So does finding silurian creatures above dinosaurs, or finding a dinosaur bone in the silurian, until we remember that a billion or so years is a long time for good data to lie about undisturbed by time and chance and to hold our water until we have a statistically significant weight of finds, and an understanding of what continental folding and erosion has done to the strata in question.

There is nothing new about this--it happens all the time, it just doesn't usually go so high up the Tree of Life as to make the news. And this news is premature--I see no signs of plans afoot to make any such revision on the basis of this evidence, as yet.

210 posted on 12/08/2003 9:29:22 AM PST by donh
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