>>12631939I don't have alterative theory. I'm just curious whether or not evolutionary biologists have hardcore evidence that the origin of phyla can be explained by the same mechanism that causes origin of species (random mutations, natural selection). I see this extrapolation asserted all over the place, without ever really hearing why. It's not scientific to just assume the two operated on the same mechanism, if there's no actual evidence to suggest this. If there is no real evidence, then the answer should be that we just don't know.
