Quotes and Misquotes of B.J. Stahl

Quotes and Misquotes from:
• Vertebrate History: Problems in Evolution
• Claimed: Sat Mar 13 1993 19:45:18 By: Barbara Brasfield

The coelacanths and rhipidistians are together classified as crossopterygian fishes, which is supposed to be the ancestral group for amphibians. A supposedly-extinct-for-a-hundred-million-years coelacanth (cousin to the rhipidistians) was hauled aboard in 1938. Examination of this supposed ancestor to tetrapods proved to be disapointing to those wanting to explore this classic evolutionary link. The "link" established on skeletal features was destroyed when the soft tissues were examined. The heart, brain and intestine was not what had been expected for a tetrapod ancestor. B.J. Stahl in "Vertebrate History:Problems in Evolution" pointed out that however close the crossopterygian and amphibian skeleton may have appeared, the overall biology of the two was not close.