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Question

According to Darwinism, fossils of organisms found in South America resemble fossils of
  1. North America
  2. Australia
  3. Both B & C
  4. Africa

A
Australia
B
North America
C
Africa
D
Both B & C
Solution
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According to Darwinism, fossils of organisms found in South America resemble fossils of Africa and Australia.
In the voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836), Darwin collected and described thousands of animals and plants. In South America, he observed the adaptations of organisms to a variety of habitat from jungle to grassland to mountain habitats. In the temperate regions, the species resembled more closely the species of the tropical regions of South America rather than the corresponding species of the temperate regions of Europe. For example, in the grasslands of Argentina there are no rabbits, however, there are rodents that resemble rabbits; these rodents are unrelated to European rabbits but are similar to other rodents in South America. Moreover, the fossils in South America are dissimilar to European fossils but have similarities with extant (i.e. currently living) plants and animals in South America.

There are many examples of fossils found on separate continents and nowhere else, suggesting the continents were once joined. If Continental Drift had not occurred, the alternative explanations would be:

The species evolved independently on separate continents – contradicting Darwin’s theory of evolution.
They swam to the other continent/s in breeding pairs to establish a second population.

Remains of Mesosaurus, a freshwater crocodile-like reptile that lived during the early Permian (between 286 and 258 million years ago), are found solely in Southern Africa and Eastern South America. It would have been physiologically impossible for Mesosaurus to swim between the continents. This suggests that South America and Africa were joined during the Early Permian.

Cynognathus is an extinct mammal-like reptile. The name literally means ‘dog jaw’. Cynognathus was as large as a modern wolf and lived during the early to mid-Triassic period (250 to 240 million years ago). It is found as fossils only in South Africa and South America.

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