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Fossil Rises From its Grave

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the eek-eek-brains-eek dept.

gokulpod writes "Scientific American reports that a family of animals known as Diatomyidae thought to have been dead for 11 million years has been discovered in Laos. From the article: 'Fossilized remnants of this group have been found throughout Asia with a distinctive jaw structure and molars. It represents a rare opportunity to compare assumptions derived from the fossil record and an actual living specimen to determine overall accuracy of the techniques involved. This discovery also provides a compelling argument for preservation efforts in Southeast Asia.'"

2 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Coelacanth by Mahou · · Score: 1, Troll

    a species, a sexually reproducing one, going unchanged for millions of years* has nothing to do with evolution**?? WOW

    *why no, i haven't RTFM'd
    **preemptive: i'm not arguing against evolution and i don't believe in "id"

    --
    if i'm not immortal, what's the point of living?
    ...te?
  2. Re:After 11 million years ... by Saanvik · · Score: 1, Troll
    Maybe because those things wouldn't help it survive in it's current habitat? Evolution doesn't lead to all species becoming more similar, quite the opposite. Just because standing on our hind legs is a good trait for humans in our particular ecological niche, doesn't mean it's a good trait for every other species that inhabit other niches.

    Is this article linked from some anti-evolution website, or what? I don't think I've ever seen so many posts by people that misunderstand evolution in one place.