Darwin’s dilemma remains, amid sponge fossil debate
The evidence of layer upon layer of fossil-filled rock strata around the world fits beautifully with the creationist view. I.e., they are a legacy of the global Flood of Noah’s day about 4,500 years ago, and its aftermath.
But the evolutionary view of the layers being a ‘fossil record’ of evolution over millions of years is often thwarted by evolutionarily awkward evidence. E.g. ‘out-of-order’ fossils, and gaps. Charles Darwin expressed his puzzlement as to “the question of why we do not find rich fossiliferous deposits belonging to … periods prior to the Cambrian”.
Laurentian University (Sudbury, Canada) Professor of Earth Sciences, Elizabeth C. Turner, recently wrote: “This conundrum, known as Darwin’s dilemma, remains tantalizing and unresolved 160 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species.”
Note that it’s not for lack of trying. Professor Turner herself reported sponge fossils in Precambrian rocks of north-west Canada, ‘dated’ to 890 million years. From an evolutionary perspective this would make it “Earth’s earliest known animal”, and Turner reckons it “may provide a new perspective on Darwin’s dilemma.” (Note that she is careful not to say it solves it.) However, some paleontologists are hotly disputing whether the microscopic patterns in Turner’s fossils are from sponges at all, and might simply be left behind by microbes, or from crystals.
Acknowledging the objections, Turner expects “lively controversy to ensue”, and that it might be “years in the future” before there is any consensus. “Until then,” she says, “enjoy the debate!” However, for the creationist scientist there is no dilemma.
- Turner, E.C., Possible poriferan body fossils in early Neoproterozoic microbial reefs, Nature 596:87–91, 2021.
- Turner, E.C., A new fossil discovery may add hundreds of millions of years to the evolutionary history of animals, theconversation.com, 17 Oct 2021.
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