TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
Dolphins possess a degree of encephalization (brain-size-to-body-mass ratio) that is second only to humans. From an evolutionary perspective, the expectation is that dolphin brain size (recorded in the fossil record) should increase in a gradual fashion, through time. This recent study indicates otherwise. Measurements on 36 toothed whale fossils (which belong to the same order as dolphins) reveal that brain size increased in two sudden bursts at about 35 million and 15 million years ago. After each episode of explosive brain growth, stasis (no change) follows. While this pattern (explosive appearance followed by stasis) contradicts evolutionary expectations, it’s exactly as predicted if a Creator intervened in life’s history to bring about biological innovation.
Lori Marino et al., “Origin and Evolution of Large Brains in Toothed Whales,” The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology, (2004) Early View.
A team of scientists from Franklin & Marshall College (in Pennsylvania), the University of Chicago, and the American Museum of Natural History in New...
