Scientists accept adaptation and then extrapolate from there. Speciation, in terms of seeing any animal change into another kind of animal, has never been observed at all, and is refuted by fossil evidence.
Quoting: Booboo Kitty Truck Speciation occurs when one interfertile population diverges into two populations that are no longer capable of breeding with each other. This has been observed. 'Kind' has no meaning in biology. You might say there are different kinds of lizards, or you might say that all lizards (from geckos to Komodo Dragons) are the same 'kind.'
I'm guessing you wouldn't say that chimps and humans are the same kind, despite the fact that geckos and komodo Dragons are more different (genetically and anatomically) from each other than chimps are from humans.
The fossil record doesn't refute evolution at all, it supports it.
We find lizards with all kinds of adaptations in the fossil bed. We find monkey and apes, possums and horses, cats and dogs. What we son't find is links in a chain of a cat adapting itself eventualy into say, a cow, or a pony.
Quoting: Booboo Kitty Truck No scientist on the planet thinks that cats evolved into ponies. How familiar are you with taxonomy? You probably know that cats are mammals, yes? Mammal is a taxonomic class. Cats belong to the order Carnivora, along with Dogs, bears and racoons. What current evolution theory suggests is that animals that share taxonomic ranks are more closely related to each other than they are to animals outside those ranks. ie, all mammals are more related to each other than they are to reptiles. By extension, all mammals in the order Carnivora are more closely related to each other than they are to mammals outside the order Carnivora.
What this suggests (assuming common ancestry) is that in the past, there was one kind of mammal that was the common ancestor of all mammals. From here, one variety of mammal appeared that was the common ancestor of all Carnivorans, and this variety gradually diverged into the different species within the order Carnivora. And this is exactly what the fossil record shows us.
The earliest Carnivorans appear about 55 million years ago, they are small 'ferret-like' arboreal animals with hands. From here, we see carnivorans gradually diverge to become more and more similar to cats, dogs and bears. We see animals with the traits of both canine and feline appear before those groups diverge, and then we see dog-bears appearing before the separate dog and bear categories emerge. You should look this up, it's fascinating.
We don't find any evidence, in fact, that points to anything other than the fact that cats...have always been cats. That got bigger, and smaller, and adapted to grow stronger, or to withstand more or less heat.
Quoting: Booboo Kitty Truck A cat is a cat by definition. This is basic logic. But as I already explained, the fossil record shows animals appearing in a sequence that is consistent with evolution theory. Here's a basic rundown:
The first vertebrates in the fossil record are fish, then we see tetrapods appear, which are a type of vertebrate with 4 limbs. Then we see amphibians appear, which are a type of tetrapod. Then we see amphibians diverge from reptiles, then we see some reptiles that gradually become more mammal-like, followed by full fleged mammals. Then we see mammals diverge into different types, among them are primates and the first Carnivorans, then we see Carnivorans diverge into cats, dogs and bears. There has NEVER been a fossil found outside of this sequence. We never find tigers older than dinosaurs and we never find mammals older than the first reptiles.
Evolution is a religion in that regardless of these facts, people say that somehow evolution has been observed. No, adaptation has been observed within the kind of animals we see.
A lizard is a lizard, whether that species adapts to environmental changes or not.
Quoting: Booboo Kitty Truck Evolution is not a religion, it's a very complex scientific theory that involves many different fields of study. If you want to learn about Evolution theory, I suggest you stop listening to Creationists, who have a vested interest in lying about evolution in order to preserve their religion.
