Assertion 4.22: There is no evidence for the rapid development of new species in nature.
Analysis:
The assertion is incorrect. Here are two examples:
(i) 3,500 years ago, a small lake was separated from Lake Victoria by a sandbar. There are now five species endemic to the new lake; they have evolved from the original species in a geological instant (McGowan 1984:29).
(ii) A population of Nereis acuminata isolated in 1964 was no longer able to interbreed with its ancestors by 1992 (Weinberg et al. 1992).
References
C. McGowan. 1984. In the Beginning...: A Scientist Shows Why the Creationists are Wrong. Buffalo: Prometheus.
J. R. Weinberg et al. 1992. Evidence for rapid speciation following a founder event in the laboratory. Science 46(4):1214-1220.