Although creationists frequently claim that there are no transitional fossils, the paleontological record tells a very different story.
Table of Contents Critique: Exploring "Explore Evolution" Preface Educational policy and terminology Santorum Amendment and UK National Curriculum Inquiry-based learning References Scientific controversy vs. social controversy "Controversy" over evolution Evolution, climate change, plate tectonics, and string theory "Key aspects" of evolution References Introduction Evolution Meanings of "evolution" Evolutionary mechanisms Universal Common Descent "Fundamentally new" organisms References Nature of Science "Historical science" vs. "experimental science" Evaluating the quality of a scientific explanation References Fossil Succession Other Errors in Chapter 3 Time Represented in Outcrops Geologic "Closeness" The Three Domains Weasel Words Phylogeny & the Nature of the Fossil Record Stability of Phyla Sudden taxonomic levels Fossil Preservation Absence of Fossil Evidence Punctuated Equilibrium Polyphyletic vs. Monophyletic Do scientists support polyphyletism? Evidence for Single Origin of Life Nature of Scientific Disagreement Malcolm Gordon The Cambrian Radiation Sudden Appearance? The Cambrian Radiation in the Geologic Record Creationist Statistics Soft-bodied fossils Cal Academy of Sciences display Transitional Fossils Transitional Fossils Are Not Rare Do animal forms change or stay the same? Darwin on Transitional Fossils The Sequence of Transitional Fossils Whale Evolution The Sizes of Transitional Fossils Anatomical Homology Misquoting Brian Goodwin David Wake Development Primer Homology via different genes or developmental pathways Non-homology via homologous genes Convergence Common function vs. common ancestry Vertebrate limbs Similarity of shape vs. similarity of form Convergence vs. natural selection Convergence and common descent Defining "homology" Homology and similarity Homologous structures, genes, and developmental pathways Circular definitions Molecular Homology Molecular Clocks Environmental Influences Molecular Clock Rates A Universal Tree of Life Do Different Genes Mean Different Phylogenetic Trees? Phylogenetic Trees and Molecular Family Histories The Last Universal Common Ancestor Malcolm Gordon References Evolving Codes and Novel Genes The Genetic Code ORFans Embryology References Philosophy Evolutionary Predictions of Common Ancestry Students as Jurors History of Embryology Darwin on Dissimilarities Ontogeny & Phylogeny Haeckel's Drawings Accuracy in embryo illustrations The Earliest Stages Sedgwick's Two Challenges Michael Richardson's photographs Biogeography Evolution on Islands The Breadth of Biogeography Island Diversity Marsupials "Lost" Genetic Information Fixity of species and common descent Fixity of Species Biogeographic predictability Doubting Common Ancestry Natural Selection Extrapolation Exrapolating microevolution to macroevolution Limits on Evolution Oscillations Experiments Biology Texts Modern Galapagos Finches Peppered Moths Kettlewell's Experiments Where Peppered Moths Rest Artificial and Natural Selection Artificial vs. Natural Selection Horses and Dogs Natural Selection & Mutation Morphology The Four-Winged Fly Survival "Hopeful Monsters" Hox & Development Modularity in Hox genes Body Plans Mutations & New Body Plans Developmental Controls Bacterial speciation DNA Information Other sources DNA and CD players "Genomic equivalence" Mutations Mutation Definition Protein Coding Normal Protein Mutation Accumulation Compensatory Mutations Pre-Existing Resistance Protein Changes Molecular "Machines" Claim about protein synthesis Claims about "cooption" Claims about evolution of flagella Claims about complexity of cells Natural Selection / Survival of the Fittest Tautology What Fossils Tell Us Transitional Forms Intermediates between modern forms Fossils of live birth Mammal eggs and reptile placentas Lungs Parabronchi Bird diaphragms Dinosaur diaphragms Hearts Mammalian hearts Crocodilian Hearts Dissent in Science Nature of Science Is this how science works? References Disagreement Debates Expert Witnesses Misquoting Creationism Versus Science Malcolm Gordon Critique Summary