would we be better off if things were happening at a bit faster rate, or are things about right?
we know the earth has been through at least four re-designs in the past? anyone agree?
that is, before the dinasours were a few, then that crowd, and now us as the dominants.
wonder what the next re-design will look like? i mean, evolution is evolution, right?
A great case of "observational" evolution (as in, evolution humanity has observed directly), is the case of the Mosquito's in the London subway. They first went down there in the 1860's. Today, those mosquitos are a completely different species (verifyable). We have samples of what they were...We have what they are. We have DNA from both, we can SEE the path of mutations that led to a different species.
The new species looks different, has some different biology... And have changes so much, that the two can no longer interbreed. Humanity has directly observed evolution.
. It is found in the London Underground railway system as its name suggests, but has a worldwide distribution and long predates the existence of the London Underground.[1] It was first described as a distinct species from Egyptian specimens by the biologist Peter Forsskål (1732–1763).[2] He named this mosquito Culex molestus due to its voracious biting, but later biologists renamed it Culex pipiens f. molestus because there were no morphological differences between it and Culex pipiens.[2] Notably, this mosquito assaulted Londoners sleeping in the Underground during the Blitz,[3] although similar populations were long known.[1]
A study from 2004 analyzing DNA microsatellites suggested that Culex molestus is likely a distinct species from Culex pipiens.[1] However, a more recent paper from 2012 argues that it is more accurately 'a physiological and ecological variant of Cx. pipiens ' and should not be considered a distinct species.[4]
