“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ exists which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications,” Charles Darwin wrote in The Origin of Species, “my theory would absolutely break down”.

This week a team of scientists from Australia and Spain lead by John R. Paterson, a paleontologist at the University of New England in Australia, extended even further Darwin’s dilemma.

The paper entitled “Acute vision in the giant Cambrian predator Anomalocaris and the origin of compound eyes” published in the December 8 edition of the journal Nature, a vanguard of evolution, amazingly unveiled the advanced and complex nature of the eyes in this arthropod. Unlike any other known counterpart, past or present, this underwater sea creature has bizarrely positioned eyes at the top of two stalks that extend bilaterally from the sides of the head. Anomalocaris, derived from the word anomaly, means abnormal or strange shrimp.

In a prepared statement, Paterson said that the “Anomalocaris is the stuff of nightmares”−a nightmare for the evolution industry. The problem is that the bizarre eyes appear in the Cambrian fossil record with no known ancestor−Darwin’s worst nightmare.

Not only is the position and shape of the stalk eyes an evolutionary enigma, so is the advanced nature of this large shrimp-like animal two pear-shaped eyes. According to Paterson’s report, each eye of this 3 to 6 foot long enigma contains at least 16,000 hexagonal lenses far exceeding the number of lenses in most modern groups with vision as keen as the sharpest insect alive today.

Contrary to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, there is no evidence for any simpler pre-Cambrian or Cambrian ancestor. Cambrian fossilized animals were highly complex and sophisticated. Evidence demonstrates that complex morphologies of the Anomalocaris appeared in Cambrian Explosion then disappeared suddenly.

The international team studied the fossil remains from a shale quarry discovered on Kangaroo Island, just off the southern coast of Australia. The shale formation, known as Emu Bay shale, is noted for stunning preservation of soft tissue, like the eyes, as well as skeletal remains. The first Anomalocaris was discovered by Charles Dolittle Watcott in 1909 in the famed Burgess Shale. Historically, the Anomalocaris had a cosmopolitan distribution in the Cambrian seas. Fossils of Anomalocaris have been discovered in Canada, China, and in Australia.

The discovery and analysis of Anomalocaris eyes “confirms that it had superb vision to support its predatory lifestyle”, according to Paterson. “Such lens-rich compound eyes suggest Anomalocaris was a highly visual hunter. Its prey didn’t stand a chance.”

Pete Spotts, staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor, noted in the article entitled “Jeepers, creepers, where did the Cambrian ocean’s top predator get those peepers?” the real evolutionary problem with the discovery:  “the presence of these eyes at this stage in the evolution of life on Earth indicates how quickly, in geologic time, novel features can emerge.” Stated nicely, this presents a serious theoretical conundrum for evolution.

“If numerous species, belonging to the same genera or families, have really started into life at once,” according to Darwin, “the fact would be fatal to the theory of evolution through natural selection”. Clearly, the Anomalocaris is scientific evidence contradicting Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

In an interview, New Scientist quoted Paterson: “Very few modern animals, particularly arthropods, have eyes as sophisticated as this”. With at least 16,000 lenses on each eye, “This is a lot,” says Paterson. “The common housefly has only 3,200 and most ants have fewer than 1,000.”

Matt Kaplan, science writer for Nature News quoted Paterson commenting on the article in the Nature journal entitled “An eye-opening fossil. Ancient predators had vision sharper than modern insects” that while Dragonflies have up to 28,000 lenses in each eye they are “the freaks of the arthropods”.

Not only is the Anomalocaris a freak of arthropods, the Anomalocaris is a freak of evolution. Contrary to Darwin’s theory, the Anomalocaris suddenly appears then disappears in the Cambrian fossil record.  Rather than clarity, the resurrected Anomalocaris has delivered another insurrection within the disorganized ranks of the evolution industry.

Like the Archaeopteryx, the Anomalocaris highlights why evolution continues to be a theory in crisis. Today, theories of evolution continue only as a philosophy unsupported by scientific evidence. Robert Gaines, palaeobiologist at Pomona College in Claremont, California, who was not involved in the study understates the implications: “This could stir up a debate“.

The pristine condition of the Anomalocaris soft tissue, a freak of evolution, can best be explained by an act of creation that was instantaneously fossilized while still alive during the flood. The empirical scientific evidence from the Anomalocaris highlights even further why Darwin’s theory is increasingly irrelevant.

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