Genesis 1:20
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
We have discussed archaeopteryx in previous Creation Moments because it was a fascinating creature. This extinct creature gives every indication of having been a bird, as no fossils of supposedly feathered dinosaurs other than archaeopteryx have ever been found with clear fossil impressions of feathers. Creationists are not alone in classifying the creature as a bird – a significant minority of evolutionists would also say that it is a bird, denying the plumage ascribed to certain therapod dinosaurs.
A recent New Scientist article suggests a number of possible behaviors of the archaeopteryx. The article claimed that the birds lived at a time when a super-continent, which they call Pangaea, was being split in two by the so-called Tethys Ocean, which covered the area now associated with Europe. The article claims that archaeopteryx lived on an archipelago of little islands and that it could fly short distances. Differences between the eleven known fossils of the creature are said, perhaps, to belong to different species from different islands in the archipelago, suggesting a scenario similar to that of Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos. Analysis of the teeth of the bird suggests to the article’s author that they ate hard-shelled insects, and their lack of large eye sockets makes them imagine archaeopteryx hunted during the day.
So many of these behaviors are quite possible but are based on unprovable assumptions. Over-imagination, if not checked, leads to the assumption of “facts” which are not facts at all.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the wonders of Your creation, and thank You for the many discoveries that push back the boundaries of knowledge. Help us to remember that Your word is the unchangeable foundation for all that we know. Amen.
Author: Paul F. Taylor
Ref: Marshall, M. (June 1st 2019), The evolution of Archaeopteryx is stranger than anyone imagined, < https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232322-200-the-evolution-of-archaeopteryx-is-stranger-than-anyone-imagined/ >, accessed 5/31/2019. Image: Adobe Stock Images, licensed to author..
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