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88 Chapter 13 Forcing the
evidence to fit the theory When considering any variety of
created organism one can see that it has two
distinct characters: (1) Its
general character which
it shares with
other creatures, particularly members of its own species. (2) The special features which enable it to be
identified as a distinct variety. The
same kind of
distinction can be
made between the
special features that
enable a creature to
be identified as a distinct
species and those
features which it
shares with other creatures. What is
often striking is
that a distinct
species, though sharing
many features with other
creatures of the
same genus, also
shares some feature or
features with creatures
of a totally dissimilar
genus. For instance,
the lion tailed
monkey though clearly
a monkey has
a tail similar to
that of a
lion. This would
make a mess
of any evolutionary tree
if it meant that
the lion tailed
monkey had inherited
its tail from
a lion (or
vice versa), so
it becomes necessary for
the evolutionist to
assume that the
monkey has evolved
in the direction
of a lion in
a way called
convergent evolution. However,
there must have
been an enormous amount of
convergent evolution as
the occurrence of
similar features in
otherwise quite distinct creatures is very widespread. For example:- (1) The
duck-billed platypus. This
has various reptilian features, a
bill like a duck and lays eggs.
However, it has
fur like an
otter and is
classified as a mammal. (2) The
elephant (order: proboscidea). This
has tusks as
does the walrus (order: marine
carnivores, allied to
seals), the narwhal
(order: cetacea), the boar
and chinese water deer. The elephant
also has two
peaks to its
heart like a
whale (presumably
something necessary because
of its size),
but at the
same time it
shares with the duggon the
way its teeth
grow through its
jawbone. (The duggon is a
marine grazing animal,
feeding on seaweed
and suchlike vegetation, and could
be said to
be the equivalent
of animals such
as the cow,
in fact, it
is often known as the sea cow). (3) The
aye-aye, a species
of lemur (order:
primates). This looks
like a large cat,
has a tail
similar to a
squirrel, ears like
a bat, an
almost dog-like muzzle, an
owl's large eyes
and its teeth
continue to grow
throughout its life like those of a rodent. (4) The
wildebeast
has the head
of an ox,
the mane and
tail of a horse and the
horns of a
buffalo, but it
is in fact
classified as a
species of grazing antelope. |