How many different kinds of land animals are there in the World? (Noah)

I just wonder if 2 of each kind of all the land animals can fit the ark? Do you know how big the ark was? Maybe someone should try to bring 2 animals of each kind in the ark to see if it is possible.

There are nearly 60,000 identified species of vertibrate animals and over 1.2 million species of invertibrate animal.  There are nearly 300,000 species of plants, I am sure a hunge number which would not survive a flood.  Then there are nearly 30,000 "other" species identified (lichens, fungi, and brown algae).  So right now, identified, there are over 1.5 million species.  Estimates for a real number of total species range from 5 million to 30 million.

So could Noah have taken two of a kind int the arc, described as being 450 ft x 75 ft x 45 ft?  The answer is clearly no.

It is a long and complicated discussion to try to find out what constitues "species" of animals. If you look at inter-breeding as a characteristic, you can operate with so-called "Grundtypen" (German), would be translated to someting like "basic types", and you will then be able to narrow it down to far fewer types or "species". You will find that self-declared "experts" here and elsewhere use these words in a far too loose and unspecific manner for it to be taken seriously.

Even if you narrow it down to a pair of each "kind", say just two dogs, not two of each species, you couldn't fit them all in the arc.  And then you have to consider the diversification that would be required to produce all the species (which, by the way, is evolution), it would be impossible to happen in the time since the flood. 

Mammal species alone are estimated to be ~4,000.  This is an interesting number to use, because, unlike insects, the Watchtower Society actually states how many mammal pairs they believe were on the ark: 43.  That means, in the 4,377 years since the Flood, the number of mammal species has gone from 43 to 4,000.  This is about 16,000 times faster than the rate at which biologists believe mammals have evolved, yet the Watchtower Society dismisses evolution as impossible.

Here's a more thorough explanation: http://www.watchtowerletters.com/Explanation_Q12.html.

Even if you narrow it down to a pair of each "kind", say just two dogs, not two of each species, you couldn't fit them all in the arc.  And then you have to consider the diversification that would be required to produce all the species (which, by the way, is evolution), it would be impossible to happen in the time since the flood.

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Remember there is a vast difference between micro-evolution or adjustment, and macro-evolution or new species emerging. The first one, nobody objects to - the second one, no proof.

What I understand is the quote 'of their kind', so that narrows it down even further. A lion for exemple of the Feline family or their kind would of under God's way of recreating the species died in the flood, let us say The Lion was allowed but The Tiger was left to perish outside the Ark/The Lion would reproduce a new feline family of species through God's power and tigers and leopards, and Jaguars etc would be the Lion's temperary offspring.  Another possiblity, could be that one female tiger and one male lion was allowed on board to create Tions, or Ligers, ventually leading to new species of feline we have to today/

The Dog family has had been manipulated by man for many 100's of years, st.bernard is exact cousin of a terrier, can mate everything, same species but different breeds, God had that power extended after the Flood to all mammals to recreate new species from birth.

This is my own view on a logical explaination

Mosesjoel,

You may enjoy reading a different point of view...

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/localflood.html

-LWT

I read it, and that really makes sense, if The Flood now was localized, Noah then would of had a commandment now to save m/f of each animal indigious to that area, so The Koalas and kangaroos  were not there as Australia was unaffected, same as Goffurs and llamas from The Americas

A good discussion would be now what type of mammals were around in Middle East/Biblical regions which had to be saved by the Ark

Camel etc etc.

hey moses what if a lion and a dog had offspring....would they have a log?

Another possiblity, could be that one female tiger and one male lion was allowed on board to create Tions, or Ligers, ventually leading to new species of

feline we have to today

 This would stop short pretty quickly as Liger (male lion, female tiger) and Tigon (male tiger, female lion) males are infertile, thus you'd only ever have the first Male Lion able to reproduce, once he died, there'd be no fertile males left.  Cats gone.

Plus, getting a house cat from a Lion/Tiger crossbreed in 4500 years would require more evolution than even I can imagine ;)

Ref: http://www.itsnature.org/ground/mammals-land/liger/

hey moses what if a lion and a dog had offspring....would they have a log?

You never fail to make me laugh....

lisa

awsome thread and thank you for the link LWT!

lurk3r

If the amount of evolution from basic "Kinds" occured to present current "species" then that rate of evolution could have produced all species from a common on in tens of thousands of years, not billions.  Those who believe in a flood believe in more evolution than scientists do.  This was the logical fallacy that finally made me snap out of it and leave the JW's.