Archaeopteryx
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Archaeopteryx was a winged, feathered bird-dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic,[1] and is the most famous transitional form. Really.
It is important to note that Archaeopteryx is not the first transition between reptile and bird (see transition from dinosaur to bird). Still Archaeopteryx is the best known, having been discovered only a few years after the publication of On The Origin of Species and subject to much controversy with suspicions of it being a hoax (accusations, which so far, have not stood up well).
[edit] Creationist beliefs
Creationists believe that ostriches have larger claws than Archaeopteryx in its wings. They also believe that since many reptiles (snakes) do not have teeth, it makes the fact Archaeopteryx has teeth entirely pointless.[2]
Answers in Genesis like to claim that Archaeopteryx was just an ordinary bird and not a transitional form, which is an example of creationists moving the goalposts of what a "transitional form" is to satisfy their own agenda.[3][4]
[edit] Anatomical evidence
- Teeth present in the adult stage.
- Dinosaur-shaped pelvis.
- Long tail.
- Not all fingers fused.
- Neck attaches to skull from the rear instead of from below.
- Metatarsals not fused.
- Gastralia (ventral ribs) present.
- Trunk vertebrae not fused.
Awwwwww.... poor creationists.
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Archaeopteryx.
- ↑ Answers in Genesis
- ↑ "Archaeopteryx" on AnswersinGenesis.org
- ↑ "Archaeopteryx is NOT a hoax—it is a true bird, not a “missing link" on AnswersinGenesis.org