GREAT MYTHS OF EVOLUTION: #1

by David Menton

HUMAN EMBRYOS HAVE "GILL SLITS" AT ONE STAGE OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT

PROVING THAT MAN EVOLVED FROM AQUATIC, FISH AND AMPHIBIAN, ANCESTORS.

You can hardly attend high school or college now days with out hearing

or reading this "whopper".

In fact, neither gills nor their slits are

found at any stage in the embryological development of any mammal

including man. The folds in the neck region of the mammalian embryo,

that are erroneously called "gills", are not gills in any sense of the

word and never have anything to do with breathing. They are merely

flexion folds, or wrinkles, in the neck region resulting from the

sharply down turned head and protruding heart of the developing embryo.

These folds eventually develop into a portion of the face, inner ear,

tonsils, parathyroid and thymus. No reputable medical embryology text

claims that there are "gill slits" in mammals.

Still, the gill slit myth is perpetuated in many high school and

college biology text books as "scientific evidence" for evolution. Even

Dr. Spock in his book 'Baby and Child Care' claims that "as the baby

lies in the amniotic fluid of the womb, he has gills like a fish."

Perhaps the "gill slit" myth continues to be taught because there is no

better "evidence" for evolution. How many of you were taught the gill

slit myth in school??