Charles Darwin laid the foundations of the modern view of human nature
A mystery of species evolution that he has been haunted by in his lifetime, the well-known "abominable mystery", has attracted generations of scientists to try to solve it.
This "nasty" question is actually an important scientific question in paleobotany: the origin and differentiation of early angiosperms (i.e., flowering plants) on Earth, that is, how can the "sudden" appearance of the earliest angiosperms in the Cretaceous strata about 110 million years ago explain?
But how can this question be called an "annoying mystery"?
Richard Buggs, a professor of evolutionary biology at Queen Mary University of London, explains that Darwin feared the mystery was unsolved and could influence his theory of biological evolution.
This is not self-inflicted annoyance. Historical archives show that another scientist who competed with Darwin believed that behind the emergence of the early angiosperms was the power of God, the hand of God.
To make matters worse, Baggus said, the head of the British Museum's Botanical Museum at the time was widely reported in the media in favor of God's creation of life, exacerbating Darwin's anxiety and irritation.
There are more than 200,000 species of flowering plants (angiosperms) on Earth.
Why hate?
The term "annoying mystery" was written by Darwin in a letter to his closest friend in 1879. That friend was Dr Joseph Hooker, a botanist and explorer. The letter mentions the origin and rapid differentiation of early angiosperms that are confusing, too annoying, and an "annoying mystery."
The key to this mystery is the origin of flowering plants (angiosperms). These plants will blossom and bear fruit, and the fruit is wrapped in seeds. From oak trees to wildflowers and lotuses, most plants on Earth are angiosperms.
Early angiosperms appeared on Earth geologically more recently and exploded rapidly into plants of various colors, shapes, and shapes.
Professor Baggs said: "The fossils show that they appeared suddenly in the Cretaceous period more than 100 million years ago, and there was nothing that looked like angiosperms before, and their appearance was not only sudden, but also quite diverse. ”
This is the crux of Darwin's "annoying mystery."
"Why don't angiosperms have a gradual evolutionary process? Why can't you see a transitional form between gymnosperms – such as conifers – and angiosperms? Again, why are they so diverse when they appear? ”
Darwin's confusion
The question of Darwin was deeply troubled by the fact that a wide variety of flowering plants seemed to have taken over the world in the blink of an eye, and the mountains were all over the place, while other species such as mammals had undergone a long process of evolution.
According to the theory of natural selection, nature does not jump forward, but the rapid progress of flowering plants in nature shows that biological evolution can occur suddenly and rapidly, contrary to the theory of natural selection.
Darwin once envisioned the possibility that flowering plants might have undergone evolution on an island or continent that had not yet been discovered.
In August 1881, a few months before Darwin's death, he wrote to Hooke, in which he wrote: "It seems to me that there is nothing more astonishing in the history of the plant kingdom than the sudden or abrupt evolution of higher plants." I sometimes wonder if it might have been somewhere on some isolated continent for a long time, maybe near the South Pole. ”
1858 British Museum Botanical Museum
The latest guess
Professor Baggs found a copy of a 1876 lecture by Scottish botanist William Carruthers in the library of the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, which provided new clues to Darwin's lifelong confusion.
Kalusus was head of the Plant Department at the British Museum, where he was important in the field of paleobotany at the time.
In a lecture to the Society of Geologists at University College London Library, he pointed out Darwin's confusion around fossil evidence, specifically mentioning the mysteries of the sudden appearance of flowering plants.
The Times and scientific journals reported on Carlutheus' remarks, sparking a heated public debate.
Professor Baggs said: "Kalusus is using annoying mysteries to attack the theory of species evolution itself. He believes that God created flowering plants in the Cretaceous; they did not undergo evolution. ”
For Darwin and his proponents, the claim that God created the flowering plant is also annoying because it is actually an attempt to explain the fossil record with supernatural forces.
However, Carlutheus's view of the fossil record is really difficult to argue with evolutionary theory. This is Darwin's conundrum.
Tulips blooming in Germany
Professor Baggs, who published a paper in the American Journal of Botany specifically for this new discovery, pointed out that its significance lies in providing clues to insight and understanding of Darwin's thinking in his later years.
He believes that the "annoying mystery" left by Darwin can be compared with the Fermat's Grand Theorem (also known as "Fermat's Last Theorem") left by the 17th-century French mathematician Pierre de Fermat, "a unique layer of romance", like "Darwin's last mystery"; Darwin's last months of life were full of this mystery, and perhaps regrets.
Fermat's Last Theorem was conquered by the American mathematician Andrew Wiles in 1995.
Has the mystery of Darwin been solved?
Simply put, no.
The mystery that has plagued the scientific community for 140 years remains unsolved.
Baggus said that although people now know more about species evolution and the fossil record, a deeper understanding, the "annoying mystery" is still annoying and annoying.