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Index to Creationist Claims,  edited by Mark Isaak,    Copyright © 2004
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Claim CB920:

The evolution of new body parts has never been observed.

Source:

Kepler, Christian, n.d. Another false link discovered in the theory of evolution. http://www.canadianheritagealliance.com/channels/articles/kepler/evolution.html

Response:

  1. We would not expect to directly observe the evolution of new body parts. Major changes occur gradually over long periods of time. Finding a new body part one day where there was none the day before, or even a generation before, would be better evidence for creationism than for evolution.

  2. What exactly is a new body part? Most evolutionary changes are changes to existing structures, not additions de novo. We have transitional sequences showing the evolutionary transition of fins to legs, plus some understanding of the genetic changes involved (Zimmer 1998, 57-85). Do legs qualify as a new body part?

    We also sometimes see duplication of body parts. It is not uncommon for cats to have extra toes, for example. Should not these qualify as new body parts?

References:

  1. Zimmer, Carl, 1998. (see below)

Further Reading:

Zimmer, Carl, 1998. At the Water's Edge: fish with fingers, whales with legs, and how life came ashore but then went back to sea. New York: Touchstone.
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created 2003-7-28