Evolution Before Your Eyes

Charles Darwin wasn't always right.

Take his position on the speed of evolution. Darwin invoked the Latin phrase: "Natura non facit saltum," which means, "Nature doesn't make jumps."

What he meant is that evolution happens very gradually with lots of transitional steps along the way. Evolutionary lineages created a densely branched tree of life. But as paleontologists started to realize a couple of decades ago - and biologists have started to see in the real world in recent years - Nature can be as jumpy as a toad.

Some species can evolve in a matter of decades or even less. That makes for a tree of life with a lot of right-angle branches - more like a massive, complicated saguaro cactus than a tree.

Credit: Public Domain