Time and biological diversity

Based on the standard biological taxonomy here is a logarithmic model of the relationship between the time it takes life to reach the diversity that is observed today and possible positions on the lowest rank of the initial taxa of life, which I shall call prototypes.

Prototypes of the species rank would take tens of years to arrive at presently observed diversity.  This represents the position of biologists a few centuries ago in which species were considered fixed and the age of the earth was immaterial.

Prototypes of the genus rank would take hundreds of years to arrive at presently observed diversity.

Prototypes of the family rank would take thousands of years to arrive at presently observed diversity. This is approximately the position of YECs today.

Prototypes of the order rank would take tens of thousands of years to arrive at presently observed diversity.

Prototypes of the class rank would take hundreds of thousands of years to arrive at presently observed diversity.

Prototypes of the phylum rank would take millions of years to arrive at presently observed diversity.

Prototypes of the kingdom rank would take tens of millions of to arrive at presently observed diversity.

Prototypes of the domain rank would take hundreds of millions of years to arrive at presently observed diversity.

A prototype of the life rank would take billions of years to arrive at presently observed diversity.  This is the position of evolutionists, who accept only a single prototype (or LUCA) for all organic life forms.

ID advocates seem to place prototypes somewhere below the kingdom rank.

This model of time and diversity provides a simple way to compare different positions in a common framework.

October 2013