Best one sentence summation of how I feel, ever.

[DrKvothe]

Originally Posted by Illuzionz [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

So something had to have eventually become what we now know as a wolf. That's what this "go from one species to another" thing is. If no wolves existed at one point, how the fuck can you go from something that isn't a wolf to something that is, without one species becoming another entirely? Either wolves have always existed or you're telling me that something that wasn't a wolf eventually became one. What the fuck was it, before it became a wolf, and what was that before it became what it is that eventually became a wolf.

Speciation can occur when a mutant from one population is allowed to fill another ecological niche. This is what Darwin observed in finches in the Galapogos islands. Well, sometimes the preceding species dies off. This wasn't the case with wolves and dogs. The ancestors of dogs were likely wolves genetically predisposed to reliance on humans. They snuck in and stole scraps of food, etc. Still scared of us, but not as scared and not as aggressive. Eventually such an intermediate species was domesticated. The natural grey wolf still retained its ecological niche and still lives on today.

Most of the organisms that have ever lived are extinct. The vast biodiversity present today is but a tiny snapshot of what has been and what will be.