Why cant fish breathe air?

[Mr Skeptic]

Therefore lungfish cannot be ancestors of lungbreathers:

 

No one is saying modern lungfish are our ancestors.

 

It is therefore NOT entirely plausible that a lungfish could 'evolve' into a lung breather. If they did, then they would not be here any longer.

 

This does not make sense, and also shows a deep lack of understanding about the theory of evolution. It would be kind of like me trying to disprove the genesis account by saying that old men with long white beards don't seem able to create a universe.

 

So, you and your cousin are descended from a common ancestor. This does not mean you are descended from your cousin, nor that your cousin is descended from you, nor that your grandpa is dead, nor that your cousin should look exactly like you. Evolution is a theory of common descent, not of pixies and fairies magically turning frogs into princes or whatever you seem to think.

 

These hypothetical common ancestors simply do not exist. If they do, then where are they?

 

Like your great-great-great-great grandfather, they are dead. That does not mean that you and your cousins are not descendant from him (cause where is he?). Replace your magical ideas of what evolution is with common ancestry and you will have a better understanding of what scientists are saying.

 

 

You remind me of Gould's statement that if evolution is indeed taking place, then there ought not to be anything like species.

 

He's right, there is no such thing as species. We just pretend there are, for convenience. If you think otherwise, feel free to define what a species is.