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body plans—but no evolutionary rules were   Cai, Y., Xiao, S., Li, G., and Hua, H., 2019, Diverse   conflict  between  science  and  scripture:  Ventura,
         broken, nor is there mystery or discipline-  biomineralizing animals in the terminal Ediacaran   California, Gospel Light Publications, 168 p.
         dividing controversy, as is claimed by anti-  Period herald the Cambrian explosion: Geology,   Rothman,  D.H.,  Hayes, J.M.,  and  Summons,  R.E.,
                                              v. 47, no. 4, p. 380–384, https://doi.org/10.1130/
                                                                                  2003, Dynamics of the Neoproterozoic carbon cycle:
         science concerns who seize on the term   G45949.1.                       Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of
         “explosion.”                        Cloud, P.E., 1948, Some problems and patterns of   the United States of America, v. 100, p. 8124–8129,
          After the Cambrian, the next major expan-  evolution  exemplified  by  fossil  invertebrates:   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0832439100.
         sion in biodiversity occurred during the mid-  Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evo-  Schuchert, C., and Dunbar, C.O., 1933, A Textbook
         dle Ordovician, a chapter in the history of   lution, v.  2, p.  322–350, https://doi.org/10.1111/   of Geology—Part II—Historical Geology, third
                                              j.1558-5646.1948.tb02750.x.
                                                                                  edition: New York, John Wiley and Sons, 551 p.
         life referred to as the Great Ordovician   Colbert, E.H., 1953, Explosive evolution: Evolution;   Simpson, G.G., 1944, Tempo and Mode in Evolution:
         Biodiversification Event or GOBE (Webby   International Journal of Organic Evolution, v. 7,   New York, Columbia University Press, 237 p.
         et al., 2004; Harper et al., 2015; Servais and   p. 89–90, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1953   Servais, T., and Harper, D.A.T., 2018, The great Or-
         Harper, 2018; Stigall et al., 2019). The term   .tb00063.x.              dovician biodiversification event (GOBE): Defi-
         “event” may be as problematic as “explo-  Conover, E., 2019, Microwaved grapes make fireballs,   nition, concept and duration: Lethaia, v.  51,
                                                                                  p. 151–164, https://doi.org/10.1111/let.12259.
         sion” in its implication of a short time period.   and scientists now know why: Science News,   Sperling, E.A., and Stockey, R.G., 2018, The temporal
                                              https://www.sciencenews.org/article/grapes-spark
         We note that the word “event” in GOBE is   -microwave-plasma (accessed March 2019).  and environmental context of early animal evolu-
         redundant, as “biodiversification” is itself an   Darwin, C., 1859, On the Origin of Species by Means   tion: Integrative and Comparative Biology, v. 58,
         event. (Similar pleonastic phrases encoun-  of Natural Selection: London, John Murray.  p. 605–622, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icy088.
         tered in other venues include “sales event”   Deline, B., Greenwood, J.M., Clark, J.W., Puttick,   Stigall, A.L., Edwards, C.T., Freeman, R.L., and
         and “birth event.”) We suggest, as an alterna-  M.N., Peterson, K.J., and Donoghue, P.C.J., 2018,   Rasmussen, C.M.Ø., 2019, Coordinated biotic and
                                                                                  abiotic change during the Great Ordovician Biodi-
                                              Evolution of metazoan morphological disparity:
         tive to “Cambrian explosion,” the  Great   Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences   versification Event: Darriwilian assembly of early
         Cambrian Biodiversification (GCB), a con-  of the United States of America, v. 115, p. E8909–  Paleozoic building blocks: Palaeogeography, Pal-
         struction parallel to that for the Ordovician   E8918, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810575115.  aeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v.  530, p.  249–
         episode, absent the redundant and problem-  Erwin, D.H., Valentine, J.W., and Sepkoski, J.J., Jr.,   270, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.05.034.
         atic “event” suffix. Because the phrase   1987,  A  comparative  study  of  diversification   Suárez-Díaz, E., and Anya-Muíoz, V.H., 2008, His-
                                                                                  tory, objectivity, and the construction of molecu-
                                              events: The early Paleozoic versus the Mesozoic:
         “mass extinction” is applied to multiple bio-  Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evo-  lar phylogenies: Studies in History and Philoso-
         diversity crises through time, even though   lution, v. 41, p. 1177–1186, https://doi.org/10.1111/   phy of Biomedical Sciences, v. 39, p. 451–468,
         each event is unique in the organisms   j.1558-5646.1987.tb02459.x.      https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2008.09.002.
         affected and the contributing causes, so   Harper, D.A.T., Zhan, R-B, and Jin Jisuo, 2015, The   Valentine, J.W., 2002, Prelude to the Cambrian Explo-
         might “great biodiversification” become a   great Ordovician biodiversification event: Review-  sion: Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sci-
                                                                                  ences, v. 30, p. 285–306, https://doi.org/10.1146/
                                              ing two decades of research on diversity’s big bang
         less volatile descriptor for intervals of nota-  illustrated by mainly brachiopod data: Palaeo-  annurev.earth.30.082901.092917.
         ble increase in life’s diversity.    world, v.  24, p.  75–85, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/   Webby, B.D., Paris, F., Droser, M.L., and Percival,
          We submit that, for scientific, semantic,   j.palwor.2015.03.003.       I.G., eds., 2004, The Great Ordovician Biodiver-
         and societal reasons, it is time to lay the   Henbest, L.G., 1952, Significance of evolutionary   sification Event: New York, Columbia University
                                                                                  Press, 496 p., https://doi.org/10.7312/webb12678.
         term “Cambrian explosion” to rest for any   explosions for diastrophic division of Earth his-  Wood, R., Liu, A.G., Bowyer, F., Wilby, P.R., Dunn,
                                              tory: Introduction to the symposium: Journal of
         use other than historical reference.  Paleontology, v. 26, p. 299–318.   F.S., Kenchington, C.G., Hoyal Cuthill, J.F.,
                                             Huxley, J., 1942, The Modern Synthesis: London,   Mitchell, E.G., and Penny, A., 2019, Integrated
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         Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), 1961,   Ridenour, F., 1967, Who says? A discussion of basic   Manuscript received 11 apr. 2020
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