[SoldierDad]

"On the contrary, there exists extensive fossil evidence."

Funny, but someone on one of these threads once told me that most animals and plants never become fossils. If that is so, how is there an "extensive fossil record"?

[Dimensio]

Funny, but someone on one of these threads once told me that most animals and plants never become fossils. If that is so, how is there an "extensive fossil record"?

It is true that most organsims do not fossilize after death. It is also true that there exists an extensive fossil record. The two statements are not mutually exclusive.

[MineralMan]

That we have so many fossils to examine is evidence of the enormous quantity of living things that have existed on this planet. It is, indeed, rare for an individual plant or animal to become fossilized. So many things have to happen in just the right way for it to happen.

Yet, there are fossils almost everywhere, if you know where to look for them. That means that, despite the difficulty in fossilizing a particular individual, there have been so vastly many individuals that we have a rich fossil record.

I hope that helps.

[grey_whiskers]

Funny, but someone on one of these threads once told me that most animals and plants never become fossils. If that is so, how is there an "extensive fossil record"?

The same way that the children of Sam Walton are all billionaires despite the meager profit margin at Wal-Mart.

There have been so *many* animals and plants, that even though the chance of any particular one being fossilized is small, the total number of fossils is stil considerable...

Cheers!