1 fish, 1 man ... with steady environmental pressures? No.
I think the wider understanding of evolution, while it acknowledges the gradual accumulation of generational changes, it doesn't appreciate the degree of importance of multiple extinction events culling chaff, creating islandisation, upending pre-existing ecosystems, opening niches, and a huge number of other factors I can't even consider, all of which are a way bigger element in the diversification of species.
Without these chaotic elements evolution doesn't seem likely to produce new species, just refine the ones that exist to be extremely well adapted to the niche they occupy.
|