A teoria dos equilíbrios pontuados como resolução do problema do ritmo evolutivo
um panorama crítico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2178-6224v19i2p%25pKeywords:
Evolution, Evolutionary biology, Paleobiology, Niles Eldredge, Stephen Jay GouldAbstract
The theory of punctuated equilibria, now 50-years-old, proposes that the origin of a species is such a rapid process that it seldom leaves evidence of transitional forms in the fossil record. It also establishes that, once formed, the new species undergoes minor to no morphological change during millions of years, until it generates a descendant species. This pattern would be caused by evolution taking place due to the geographic isolation of a small peripheral population, which would later replace the large ancestral population. The theory seems to solve the old problem of evolutionary tempo, that is, of defining what, if any, is the rate of biological change through the geological time. In approaching the problem, the theory dialogues with pre-Darwinian conceptions, such as those of Lamarck and Brocchi, as well as other Darwinian ones, such as Simpson’s and Haldane’s.
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