Between Extinctions An interview with Niles Eldredge
Paleontologist Niles Eldredge entered the world stage in 1972
when, together with his colleague Stephen Jay Gould, he proposed
the concept of punctuated equilibrium to explain the pace of
evolutionary change. Eldredge and Gould pointed to the rich but
irregular fossil record as evidence against the traditional view
of evolution as a gradual and incremental process. What had been
perceived as missing fossil information, they suggested,
represented valid data about how evolution proceeds.  Punctuated
equilibrium portrays evolution as a protracted saga with only
intermittent action. Species pass through long periods of little
or no change, called stasis, interspersed with punctuated events
precipitated by mass extinctions and followed by the rapid
origin and diversification of new species. The theory has had a
mixed reaction from scientists, and Eldredge continues to
provoke active academic debate.  Eldredge is the author of
several popular books, among them,