Editing Punctuated equilibrium (section)

===Saltationism===
[[File:Punctuated Equilibrium.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Alternative explanations for the punctuated pattern of evolution observed in the fossil record. Both [[macromutation]] and seemingly "rapid" episodes of gradual evolution could give the appearance of instantaneous change, since 10,000&nbsp;years seldom registers in the geological record.]]

The punctuational nature of punctuated equilibrium has engendered perhaps the most confusion over Eldredge and Gould's theory. Gould's sympathetic treatment of [[Richard Goldschmidt]],<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Stephen Jay Gould |first=S.J. |last=Gould |date=June–July 1976 |url=http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/gould_hopeful-monsters.html |title=The return of hopeful monsters |magazine=[[Natural History (magazine)|Natural History]] |volume=86 |pages=22–30}}</ref> the controversial [[geneticist]] who advocated the idea of "[[hopeful monster]]s," led some biologists to conclude that Gould's punctuations were occurring in single-generation jumps.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mayr, Ernst |year=1982 |title=Growth of Biological Thought |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=[http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/mayr_macroevolutionary-diversity.pdf 617] |url=http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/mayr_macroevolutionary-diversity.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623211259/http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/mayr_macroevolutionary-diversity.pdf |archive-date=2016-06-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author-link=John Maynard Smith |last=Maynard Smith |first=J. |year=1983 |title=The genetics of stasis and punctuations |journal=Annual Review of Genetics |volume=17 |page=12 |url=http://teosinte.wisc.edu/gen677_pdfs/Maynard_Smith.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206232444/http://teosinte.wisc.edu/gen677_pdfs/Maynard_Smith.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Ruse, Michael |year=1985 |title=Sociobiology, Sense or Nonsense? |place=New York, NY |publisher=Springer |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=LdSgNlQgdlkC&pg=PA216 216]}}</ref><ref>''For reply see'':
* {{cite book |author-link=Stephen Jay Gould |first=S.J. |last=Gould |title=Structure |year=2002 |pages=765, 778, 1001, 1005, 1009}}
* {{cite book |first=R. |last=Dawkins |author-link=Richard Dawkins |title=The Blind Watchmaker |year=1996 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=sPpaZnZMDG0C&pg=PA231 230-236] |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=9780393315707 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sPpaZnZMDG0C&pg=PA231 |via=Google Books}}
* {{cite book |first=D. |last=Dennett |title=Darwin's Dangerous Idea |year=1996 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FvRqtnpVotwC&pg=PA288 288–289] |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9780684824710 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvRqtnpVotwC&pg=PA288 |via=Google Books}}</ref> This interpretation has frequently been used by [[creationism|creationists]] to characterize the weakness of the [[Paleontology|paleontological]] record, and to portray contemporary evolutionary biology as advancing neo-saltationism.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Hank Hanegraaff |author=Hanegraaff, H. |year=1998 |title=The Face that Demonstrates the Farce of Evolution |place=Nashville, TN |publisher=Word Publishing |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ta-qOuhtGkAC&pg=PA40 40-45] |isbn=9781418515096 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ta-qOuhtGkAC&pg=PA40 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

In an often quoted remark, Gould stated,
: "Since we proposed punctuated equilibria to explain trends, it is infuriating to be quoted again and again by creationists – whether through design or stupidity, I do not know – as admitting that the fossil record includes no [[Transitional fossil|transitional forms]]. Transitional forms are generally lacking at the species level, but they are [[List of transitional fossils|abundant between larger groups]]."<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Stephen Jay Gould |first=S.J. |last=Gould |date=May 1981 |title=Evolution as fact and theory |magazine=[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]] |volume=2 |pages=34–37 |url=http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/gould_fact-and-theory.html}}</ref>

Although there exist some debate over how long the punctuations last, supporters of punctuated equilibrium generally place the figure between 50,000 and 100,000&nbsp;years.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ayala |first1=F. |date=2005 |title=The structure of evolutionary theory |journal=Theology and Science |volume=3 |issue=1 |page=104 |doi=10.1080/14746700500039800 |s2cid=4293004 |url=http://www.stephenjaygould.org/reviews/ayala_structure.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=2007-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923235159/http://www.stephenjaygould.org/reviews/ayala_structure.pdf |archive-date=2018-09-23}}</ref>