Whenever I say that there are no transitions from one species to another, someone inevitably brings up Archaeopteryx. This happens so frequently that I’ve decided to coin a word for those times: pseudosaur. Pseudo means false and saur refers to a dinosaur or a reptile (literally, lizard). Thus, a pseudosaur is a false link between reptiles (such as dinosaurs) and birds. Myriad evidences demonstrate conclusively that Archaeopteryx is a full-fledged bird, not a missing link.
First, fossils of both Archaeopteryx and the kinds of dinosaurs Archaeopteryx supposedly descended from have been found in a fine-grained German limestone formation said to be Late Jurassic (the Jurassic period is said to have begun 190 million years ago and lasted 54 million years). Thus, Archaeopteryx is not a likely candidate as the missing link, since birds and their alleged ancestral dinosaurs thrived during the same period.
Furthermore, initial Archaeopteryx fossil finds gave no evidence of a bony sternum, which led paleontologists to conclude that Archaeopteryx could not fly or was a poor flyer. However, in April 1993, a seventh specimen was reported that included a bony sternum. Thus, there is no further doubt that Archaeopteryx was as suited for power flying as any modern bird.
Finally, to say that Archaeopteryx is a missing link between reptiles and birds, one must believe that scales evolved into feathers for flight. Air friction acting on genetic mutation supposedly frayed the outer edges of reptilian scales. Thus, in the course of millions of years, scales became increasingly like feathers until, one day, the perfect feather emerged. To say the least, this idea must stretch the credulity of even the most ardent evolutionists.
These and other factors overwhelmingly exclude Archaeopteryx as a missing link between birds and dinosaurs. The sober fact is that Archaeopteryx appears abruptly in the fossil record, with masterfully engineered wings and feathers common in the birds observable today. Even the late Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard and Niles Eldridge of the American Museum of Natural History, both militant evolutionists, have concluded that Archaeopteryx cannot be viewed as a transitional form.
Adapted from Fatal Flaws
***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***