A Usenet persona calling itself Michael Daly wrote:

On 15-Feb-2005, Scott Weiser wrote:

If it is, care to explain why sharks are still sharks 400 million years
later? It only took 2 million years or so for man to evolve from monkey,
according to evolutionary theory, so why haven't sharks changed appreciably
in 400 million years. If evolution is "the truth," then the world should be
being run by incredibly intelligent sharks, who ought to have evolved far
beyond what they are today. They haven't.

Just because something can evolve, doesn't mean it has to evolve. If it
fits well within its current ecological niche, it can remain in its
current form. Sharks are top predators, they don't have much incentive
to move on.

Incorrect. The theory of evolution is that all organisms evolve continuously
in response to ecological challenges that causes various changes in form
that either survive or don't survive. Evolutionary theory holds that
evolution must be continuous because even if, for example, the shark didn't
change, some other species that the shark uses for food *would* change and
become a threat to the shark's existence in an evolutionary attempt to
advance the other species.

Thus, a prey species like, for example, dolphins, would be evolutionarily
stimulated to advance in order to compete against sharks, and the sharks
would be stimulated to advance in order to compete against the dolphins.

And yet sharks remain the same as they were 400 million years ago. This
makes the theory of evolution a theory, not an unassailable fact.
Creationism, or Intelligent Design is likewise a theory, one which is
supported by a number of facts about physics and mathematical probabilities.

Neither has been proven or disproven conclusively.

Regards,
Scott Weiser

"I love the Internet, I no longer have to depend on
friends, family and co-workers, I can annoy people WORLDWIDE!" TM

© 2005 Scott Weiser