Feathered dinosaurs reconsidered: New insights from baraminology and ethnotaxonomy

Abstract

Birds could not have evolved from land animal ancestors because Genesis clearly states that birds and land animals were created on separate days. As a result, young-earth creationists have consistently opposed the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs. Nevertheless, numerous fossils of dinosaurs with feathers, including some very bird-like dinosaurs, have been found in the late 20 th and early 21 st centuries. We determined to understand what these fossils mean in a creationist context through a survey of their fossil record and statistical baraminological analyses. While the survey demonstrates that feathered dinosaur fossils do, in fact, exist, the baraminological analyses suggest that there are probably at least eight different created kinds of non-avialan dinosaurs. The existence of multiple created kinds of non-avialan dinosaurs, non-avian avialans, and avians without an enormous morphological gulf between these groups, although historically unexpected in creationism, is argued through this study to be an accurate picture for their designed organization. Because of these results, creationists need to rethink the way they understand the organization of life, especially as it relates to tetrapods, in order to better represent the full spectrum of God's created variety.

Did Pterodactyls Have Feathers, and Does it Matter?

“…Phylogenetic studies consistently have birds nested within dinosaurs, and we have abundant evidence for feathered dinosaurs [MPS18], so it would be reasonable to conclude that Avemetatarsalia as a whole is a feathered group.…”

“…Other dinosaurs, such as Microraptor and Sinornithosaurus, show the presence of true feathers [MPS18]. So, how do pycnofibres compare with these filamentous structures (so-called "protofeathers") and feathers on dinosaurs?…”

“…Yes, they may share feathers with birds, but monkeys and dogs both have fur and that doesn't make dogs a type of primate. Today, birds are the only animals that possess feathers, but it is looking like there was a larger group of animals in the past -including some dinosaurs and pterosaurs -that were covered in feathers (and feather-like structures) [MPS18]. That's really cool!…”

“…Indeed, recent work has demonstrated good evidence for there being multiple created kinds of dinosaurs [DMY + 18], including feathered dinosaurs [MPS18], as well as pterosaurs [McL22]. It is important that creationist scientists affirm biological relationship but only ancestry in some cases (the similarities between all humans, for instance).…”