To those who know of the fact, evidence for evolution of life on Earth is utterly overwhelming. But everyone has to learn it one fact at a time for themselves. Help that process along by posting your favorite bits of evidence here. And please include a link or source reference to support the evidence and allow us to dig into additional information about it.
The transitional species Tiktaalik was found in the Canadian Arctic on Ellesmere Island. The creature lived 375 million years ago. It's discoverers lead by Neil Shubin relied upon evolutionary theory itself to know where to look for such a creature: in rock layers dating to that time frame and in fresh water sediment beds.
-Jerry A. Coyne "Why Evolution is True"
A crocodile-nosed Dinosaur has been found in Australia -
There are a number of dinosaur sites in Australia -
This next one is the most recent, and it is really interesting. There was a heap of Paleontologists looking for dinosaur bones, where a couple had been found before, but a lil' ole' sheep farmer worked out where the bones would be, because his hundred year old fence had been pushed out of the ground, and Voila. a brand new species.
I think evidence is one thing, proof is another. Evolution is true through the preponderance of the evidence. I don't think there's any sort of "There you have it: That proves that evolution is true" sort of fact.
Anyway, why is the cheetah so fast? Well, the cheetah evolved in N. America where it hunted the second-fastest land animal, the pronghorn antelope (even though it isn't really an antelope). It thrived in Africa where the antelopes are a bit slower.
I don't get the impression from Wikipedia that the (extant) African cheetah is a descendant from the extinct North American one.
You're right about the pronghorn not being a true antelope (I see them here all the time, by the way). However...everyone here (particularly hunters) calls them either "pronghorn" or "antelope" and the words are considered interchangeable. (I personally try to say "pronghorn" without fail if the subject comes up.)
The pronghorn is still damned fast--the fastest land animal as far as sustained speed goes, though am African cheetah could catch it if it can get close enough before detection. That's the cheetah's strategy...get close enough that a sprint will bring it to the prey. If the prey manages to keep going for more than a few seconds, the cheetah will run out of gas. The North American cheetah (possibly two species) must have been somewhat successful at catching pronghorns too, or there wouldn't have been a large enough population to leave any trace in the fossil record.
I would predict that over time pronghorn will lose their ability to run at warp 7 for long distances, since it's expensive and not needed any more.
I looked it up. You're right about the American cheetah not being a direct ancestor of the African cheetah. Pronghorns are remarkable critters. And the funny thing is, they don't really look as fast as thompson gazelles, though that matter is cleared up as soon as they take off at top speed. To see 'em running, check out this viddy about 2:30 in.
Yes. I've seen them run myself (though the aerial footage is much better than anything I see from my car). Seems one ought to be able to measure a red shift off their spectra.
It seems that they are at LEAST as iconicaly 'Murrican critters as the plains bison, but those get a lot more attention.
And like I said, they don't really look all that fast just standing there. Gazelles have more of that "built for speed" look, and of course cheetahs with their flexible spines and aerodynamic shape (small head, low profile) look quick. Pronghorns have a barrel-shaped body that doesn't really look all that aerodynamic. In fact, to me, a mule or whitetail deer LOOKS faster.
I like the way this post has evolved over time.
I could argue that its still a post, and not a Monkey, if it makes you feel better?
This is an easy way to understand evolution.