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Dinesh

Dinesh club

Posted: 25 Jul 2020

Taken: 25 Jul 2020

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Excerpt & Image from •
Why Evolution is True •
Author •
Jerry Coyne •

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Photo replaced on 26 Jul 2020
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this photo by Dinesh

Continental drift explains the evolutionary biography of the ancient tree ‘Glossopteris. Top: the present-day distribution of Glossopteris fossils (shaded) is broken up into pieces distributed among the continents, making it hard to understand. The patterns of glacial scratches in the rocks are likewise mysterious (arrows). Bottom, the distribution of Glossopteris during the Permian period, when the continents were joined in a supercontinent. This pattern makes sense because the trees surrounded the Permian South pole in an area of temperate climate. And the glacial scratches we see today also make sense, as they all pointed away from the Permian south pole

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 Dinesh
Dinesh club
It isn’t the trees that migrated from continent to distant continent, then: it is the continents themselves that moved, carrying the trees with them. These conundrums make sense in light of evolution, while creationism is at a loss to explain either the pattern of glacial scratches or the peculiarly disjunct distribution of ‘Glossopteris.’

There’s a poignant footnote to this story. When Robert Scott’s party was found in 1912, forzen to death after their unsuccessful attempt to be the first at the South Pole (the Norwegian Roald Amundsen got there a bit earlier), thirty-five pounds of Glossopteris follils lay next to their bodies. Despite having discarded much of their equipemnt in a desperate attempt to stay alive, the party physically dragged these heavy rocks on hand sledges, doubtlessly realizing their scientific value. They were the first specimens of Glossopteris found in Antarctica. ~ Page 99
4 years ago.

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