The question that is often mentioned when discussing evolution or creation is the question of “transitional forms.” Namely, the theory of evolution claims that after life emerged on Earth, the development of that primitive living organism led to more complex and advanced life forms. This process supposedly took place over a long period (about 3.5 billion years), during which primitive unicellular organisms transformed or evolved into invertebrates and plants, invertebrates further into fish, fish into amphibians, amphibians into reptiles, reptiles into birds and mammals, and finally, humans emerged from the most primitive placental mammals—shrew-like creatures—which evolved into ape-like beings.
On the other hand, according to the concept of creation, the Creator made all basic types of life during the six days of creation, as described in the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. Later, from these original types, all currently existing and extinct species of organisms developed.
Most evolutionists believe that evolution occurred gradually and that the remains of past life, preserved as fossils, provide evidence for evolution. Namely, most evolutionists claim that there are “transitional forms” in the fossil record that prove, for example, that fish walked and thus amphibians emerged, that some reptiles evolved into birds, that some shrew-like creatures evolved into apes, and these later into humans, etc.
A prediction that arises from the concept of creation is that there are no transitional forms in the fossil record because the Creator created all organisms separately, according to their kinds (or types). Thus, for example, the original type of cats was created in the beginning, from which all cat species later developed, and in the same way, all other life forms were created.
When we talk about transitional forms, the question arises: how justified is it to talk about transitional forms when so many things are known in the field of genetics? Namely, if someone supports the theory of evolution, they should provide mechanisms for how evolution occurs. Proponents of this theory usually say that mutations created variability in populations and that natural selection later favored the most advanced forms. Thus, mutations are considered the engine of evolution.
Anyone who has studied the basics of genetics knows that mutations are random and harmful phenomena. Mutations can cause variability in a population by creating different degenerated forms, but differently degenerated forms cannot produce “more advanced” forms. Moreover, it has been scientifically proven that acquired traits are not hereditary. We will specifically discuss mutations in the segment titled “Mutations.”
Therefore, from a genetic perspective, it is completely illogical to seek transitional forms in the fossil record. However, since there is still widespread discussion about the existence of transitional forms that support evolution, we will analyze the most well-known and frequently mentioned alleged “transitional forms” cited by evolutionists.
It is worth mentioning that today, many well-known evolutionists are abandoning the idea of transitional forms because they realize that fossils do not support the concept of phyletic gradualism, i.e., slow evolution. However, these evolutionists, despite admitting that there are no transitional forms in the fossil record, still believe that evolution happened, but in leaps, which is why transitional forms do not exist. This new concept is called “punctuated equilibrium.”
There are also still evolutionists who, when discussing transitional forms and evolution, cite Haeckel’s biogenetic law as proof of their concept, even though almost all evolutionists have rejected this “law.”
In the following discussion, we will examine what transitional forms look like in the light of the fossil record.
- The transition from unicellular organisms to invertebrates
- The fossil record of insects
- The transition from invertebrates to vertebrates
- The fossil record of fish
- The transition from fish to amphibians
- The amphibian-reptile-mammal transition
- The origin of flying reptiles
- The origin of flying mammals
- The origin of birds
- The fossil record of dinosaurs
- The transition from reptiles to mammals
- The origin of marine mammals
- The well-known horse series
- The fossil record of rodents
- The origin of humans