EVOLUTION CAROUSEL:

Evidence for Evolution- Peleontology

Peleontology:
Paleontology is the scientific study of prehistoric life, which looks at the fossils to further gain
knowledge about the ecologies in the past and about how current species originated (12).
Paleontology incorporates fields such as biology, archaeology, geology, anthropology, ecology,
and even fragments from computer science (1). With all these fields combined, origination and
destruction of various species that arose on the planet Earth can be properly understood (1).
Fossil Records:
Fossils provide a unique view into the history of life by showing the forms and features of life in
the past (1). Fossils tell us how species have changed across long periods of the Earths history
(1).
Evidence of sea to land creature transition:
For instance, in 1998, scientists found a fossil showing an animal at the transition from sea
creature to land creature (2). This tetrapod had a hand-like fin, confirming a prediction of
evolutionary biology (2). It provides substantial evidence for the common descent of life via
evolution (2). The fossil record is a remarkable gift for the study of nature (1).

Hand like fin of a tetrapod showing transition from sea to land creature (2).

Evidence of Gradual Change:

Organisms have changed significantly over time; for example, in rocks more than 1 billion years
old, only fossils of single-celled organisms are found (2,4). Moving to rocks that are about 550
million years old, fossils of simple, multicellular animals can be found (2,4). At 500 million years
ago, ancient fish without jawbones surface; and at 400 million years ago, fish with jaws are found
(2,4). Gradually, new animals appear: amphibians at 350 million years ago, reptiles at 300 million
years ago, mammals at 230 million years ago, and birds at 150 million years ago (2,4). As the
rocks become more and more recent, the fossils look increasingly like the animals we
observe today (2,11).
Evidence of evolution:
Mammals first appeared in the fossil record about 230 million years ago, nearly 70 million years
after reptiles first appeared (2). One group of reptiles, the cynodonts, first appeared about 260
million years ago and became increasingly mammal-like in more recent fossils245 million years
ago (2). This change can be seen most clearly in the bone structure of the ear (2).
Endosymbiotic Theory:
Endosymbiotic theory states that organelles such as mitochondria, plastids (example
chloroplasts) inside basic eukaryotic cell structure used to be separate individual prokaryotic
organisms and originated as symbiotic bacteria (9). These organelles originated as free-living
bacteria (9).

Evidence:
Mitochondria has its own different DNA, which is different from the nucleus and similar to
bacteria (circular in shape and in size) (7,10). Mitochondria can also perform and
undergo binary fusion just like other prokaryotic organism (7,10).

DNA sequence analysis suggests that nuclear DNA contains genes that came from
plastids (chloroplasts) (8,10)

These organelles have bacteria looking ribosomes (7,8)

Inner membranes are similar to prokaryotic membranes (10)

Replication by splitting (just like prokaryotes) (10)

Mitochondrial DNA VS Nuclear DNA (7)

Catastrophism:
A belief advanced in the early 19th Century by the French scientist Georges Cuvier (13).
It states that the planet Earth and its landscape elements were formed and created by
sudden, immediate, forceful events rather than slow and gradual processes such as
tectonics, erosion, weathering etc (13).
Cuvier thought that the extinctions and faults that he was seeing in the fossils were the
result of a series of catastrophes such as floods and earthquakes (13).
Catastrophism argues that a large meteorite impact lead to the extinction of dinosaurs
approximately 65 million years ago (5).
According to strict catastrophe theory, the origins of the Rocky Mountains or the Alps,
resulted from a huge earthquake that uplifted them quickly (6).
Radiometric Dating:
Radiometric dating is a technique for measuring the ages of a material or object as accurately as
possible, using scientific procedures, to determine the exact age of the object (14). Radiometric
dating helps establish the geological timescale (14). Using the timescale, it is possible to identify
when the original isotopes were incorporated into the object (15). This is the principle source of
information to identify the age of rocks, geological features, ancient artifacts, natural and manmade materials (15).
How it works:
Radioactive atoms, known as isotopes, decay into different atoms at a constant rate (14). By
radiometric dating, the rate can be measured; for example, uranium-235 (uranium atom with 235
netrons and protons combined) decays into lead-207 with half-life of 700 million years (14). This
means that after 700 million years, an uranium rock will be decayed into a half uranium and half
lead rock (14).
Radiometric Dating states that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old (3,5 paragraph 2,15)

Geologic Time Scale:

The history of the earth is broken up into a hierarchical set of divisions for describing geologic
time. This is known as the geologic time scale, which provides a system of chronologic
measurement relating to time that is used by geologists (4).
Cenozoic (65.5 millions of years ago to present) (4)
Mesozoic (251 to 65.5 millions of years ago) (4)
Paleozoic (542 to 251 millions of years ago) (4)
Proterozoic (2500 to 542 millions of years ago) (4)
Archean (4000 to 2500 millions of years ago) (4)
Hadean (4600 to 4000 millions of years ago) (4)

A geological time scale explaining the eras and the events that took place (4).

References:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)

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