: Samuel, my dear chap,: Nothing to heat-up, just something recognise:
:However after the appearance of man, the speciation rate went to zero and extinction still continues today.
Wrong. Species have been evolving much the same as always; in fact, new species have been evolving to fit into man-made environments; check the dark grey form of the Peppered Moth; which can hide on smoke-stained walls far better than the light grey original form.
Secondly, humanity has been altering the genetic makeup of domesticated animals for many thousands of years; while all dogs have near-identical DNA, there are now breeds of dog that cannot interbreed; the first step towards two subspecies.
Thirdly, microevolution can occur in very short timescales; to quote one page on the subject:
13. There is no evidence for the rapid development of new species in nature.
- 3,500 years ago, a small lake was separated from Lake Victoria by a sandbar. There are now five species endemic to the new lake; they have evolved from the original species in a geological instant (McGowan, 1984, 29). A population of Nereis acuminata that was isolated in 1964 was no longer able to interbreed with its ancestors by 1992 (Weinberg et al., 1992). New species certainly can emerge quickly.
(-in this case, evolution was observed to occur over a period of 28 years!)
: Speciations in our day are non-existant, so one should learn to get over it.
Utter hogwash, Robert. I believe the evidence I've given should have blown your claims away. However, you can find further refutations of your usual statements at the above page, which was voted New Scientist's "Planet Science Site of the Day" on the 7th of April 1996.
Farinata
