Species

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Species are naturally-occurring, interbreeding groups of organisms that are reproductively isolated from other such groups. Despite the assumptions of early creationists, it is now unquestionable that the species level in the taxonomic hierarchy is not equivalent to the created kinds referred to in the Bible. The formation of new species (speciation) is one of the mechanisms responsible for the diversification of many kinds of organism into numerous related, but physically distinct groups (see: biological evolution).

As the above definition of species is reliant upon knowledge of reproducibility, it is often assigned to groups that are later recognized to interbreed, though do so infrequently in nature. Others have been established as capable of breeding in captivity, and yet no evidence of natural breeding is known.

Species Formation

Main Article: Speciation

Speciation, or the formation of a new species, does occur with some regularity, but this process can easily be prescribed as the result of intelligent design. The term species and the process of speciation are very important for understanding how adaptation succeeds in producing distinct populations from a common ancestor. The simple fact of being separated from another population can lead to such dramatic and irreversible differences between related plants and animals that we become unable to recognize them as belonging to the same created kind.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for creationists is to identify the created kinds or baramin, which is actually the practice of a growing field of creation science called baraminology. One key piece of evidence used by Baraminologists is hybridization data, since a successful mating between two different species would confirm they are close relatives. However, accurate identification is an exceedingly problematic task since speciation can become permanent even at the genetic level.