Criticised in The Blind Watchmaker, this theory contrasts periods of cladogenesis with periods of stasis, contrary to the model of phyletic gradualism.
The originator of this theory used the metaphor of a "rolling polyhedron" to contrast it with the orthodox "rolling ball" metaphor, according to a study written by Donald Prothero entitled this theory "at twenty." Elisabeth Vrba has created many models for this theory. A later publication admits that using Lingula as evidence for it was a mistake, but maintained that pulmonary gastropods and trilobites exhibited it. It was originally conceived as an extension of Mayr's theories of peripatric and allopatric speciation. Criticised in The Blind Watchmaker, this theory contrasts periods of cladogenesis with periods of stasis, contrary to the model of phyletic gradualism. For 10 points, name this theory proposed by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould, which states that evolution occurs in short bursts.  
The originator of this theory used the metaphor of a "rolling polyhedron" to contrast it with the orthodox "rolling ball" metaphor, according to a study written by Donald Prothero entitled this theory "at twenty."
punctuated equilibrium