Previous question about evolution but I dont think that I was very clear on one.?

Question

question I asked earlier today ab a few things I could not understand how they fit into the theory of evolution.

At the end of question I mentioned something that confused me ab transitional creatures.Hopefully, bravozulu will c this ? because I dont think that I was real clear cause the limit on words.I dont think the question of where r the living missing links is meaningless. Heres my point If we evolved from primates then why are there no living "links" or transitional forms of man.Since there r apes and humans both alive to me it doesnt make sense that there shouldnt also be all the other transitions of man alive.To me it seems that evolution has frozen n place since nothing alive is in any of the stages that chart ape to man. Ur point on boy to man I like cause it clears my question up.There are boys and men living at same time. We have livng transitns from young 2 adult. Evol. is a growing up so 2 speak.Why is nothing alive in transitions.

Answer 1

I would like to elaborate on a point that seems to get overlooked in this discussion.  

The currently extant apes in the world (chimps, gorillas, etc) are *not* our ancestors!  They are just as much a progression of their evolutionary path as humans are.  We simply are all descended from a common ancestor, after that we all took different evolutionary paths.  In other words, the other apes are all as evolutionarily advanced as we are, they have simply evolved to fit in a different niche than we have evolved into.

I think some people think that man descended from the current apes, and wonder why there are no "in between" species, or why the existing groups of apes "didn't evolve".  Hopefully by seeing that all the current apes (including us) are descended from a common ancestor (and not each other) will clarify this "discrepancy" a little.

Answer 2

Only a fool would give Bravo zulu a down arrow.  His answer was good.  Evolution is not growing up. One thing you have to realize, every single animal was the result of very harsh competition and they were honed to be the best at surviving and breeding.  They are not growing up, they are evolved.  When the niche changes, they change.  In rare circumstances, a mutation may happen to actually make an animal already substantially evolved for its niche to actually improve its chances.  These forces of change are constantly present but since most species are very well adapted evolution is extremely slow, at least until the habitat or niche changes.

Answer 3

I was trying to keep the answer short and only meant it as a generality.  I didn't mean that as a specific answer to your question or that your question was meaningless.  My point was just that the word intermediate isn't an exact definition and there will always be intermediates.  What is the intermediate between a child and a man for example.  There isn't one answer.  

"....Heres my point If we evolved from primates then why are there no living "links" or transitional forms of man.Since there r apes and humans both alive to me it doesnt make sense that there shouldnt also be all the other transitions of man alive.."

There have been other species of hominids until fairly recently.  Erectus may have lasted beyond 50,000 years ago and homo floresiensis lasted until at least 13,000 years ago.  Neanderthal was likely a different species but it isn't a certainty and they lasted until about 30,000 years ago.  In my opinion, the other hominids were victims of our success and extreme aggression.  I believe modern humans got where we are because we were pushed by warfare.  Other hominids couldn't withstand a large assault by several much better armed humans.  To be an argument against evolution, you would have to ignore all the different types of hominids that lived in the fairly recent geologic past.  It is very difficult to say if two similar hominids are different species so the number of "intermediate" species ranges from about 10 to many times that depending on the interpretation.  It is pretty certain that many did live until fairly recently.  Those that shared the world with modern humans include Homo floresiensis or the hobbit, some of the Asian erectus and Neanderthal.

Answer 4

very good question.

I've wondered that myself

the dinosaurs died out but things that predated them are still here.  How is that?

could humans have killed them off?