Block, Siteadmin, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, delete, edit, Moderators, move, protect, rollback, Administrators
27,336
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
mLine 43:
Line 43: + + + + + + + Line 55:
Line 62: − + + Line 62:
Line 70: − The brain of ''Archaeopteryx'' was essentially that of a flying bird, with a large cerebellum and visual cortex.<ref name="cw94">Wieland, 1994</ref>+ − Critics point out that its teeth are irrelevant to its alleged transitional status, as a number of extinct birds had teeth, while many reptiles do not.<ref name="cw94" /> − Furthermore, like other birds, both its maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw) moved. − In most vertebrates, including many reptiles, only the mandible moves.<ref name="cw94" />
no edit summary
There are two criticisms of ''Archaeopteryx''. The first is that the fossils are an elaborate hoax as claimed by the British astronomer and physicist, Sir [[Fred Hoyle]]; the second is that ''Archaeopterix'' is a true bird, and not a transitional form suggesting evolution.
There are two criticisms of ''Archaeopteryx''. The first is that the fossils are an elaborate hoax as claimed by the British astronomer and physicist, Sir [[Fred Hoyle]]; the second is that ''Archaeopterix'' is a true bird, and not a transitional form suggesting evolution.
==Description==
''Archaeopterix'' was roughly crow-sized, with an over-all body length of 18 inches. Discounting the feather impressions in some of the fossil specimens, ''Archaeopterix'' had a build generally-similar to that of a small theropod dinosaur, with the species ''Compsognathus'' cited. Both wings ended in three-fingered claws. The tail was long, feathered on either side. Evidence that the legs were feathered as well was shown in the Berlin specimen as recently as 1880, prior to that fossil's preservation.
The bill, like modern birds, was capable of independent movement in both the upper and lower jaws; unlike modern birds, both jaws were studded with small teeth.
The hip bones are fully-formed and bird-like, i.e. the pubic bone points to the rear, unlike theropod dinosaurs (which had a forward-pointing pubic bone) from which evolution claims an ancestry.
== Criticism ==
== Criticism ==
===Not a transitional===
===Not a transitional===
The second criticism of the ''Archaeopteryx'', that it is not a transitional form, has been strengthened by the work of anatomist Dr. David Menton<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/d_menton.asp</ref> suggesting that ''Archaeopteryx'' is a true bird with flight feathers, not a transitional form at all. In 1994, an article explained that the ''Archaeopteryx'' was essentially a flying bird, with a large [[cerebellum]] and [[visual cortex]]. The fact that it had teeth is irrelevant to its alleged transitional status -- a number of extinct birds had teeth, while many reptiles do not (the South American [[hoatzin]], ''Opisthocomus hoazin'', also shares with ''Archaeopteryx'' clawed digits in its wings, albeit as juveniles). Furthermore, like other birds, both its maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw) moved. In most vertebrates, including reptiles, only the mandible moves.
The second criticism of the ''Archaeopteryx'', that it is not a transitional form, has been strengthened by the work of anatomist Dr. David Menton<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/d_menton.asp</ref> suggesting that ''Archaeopteryx'' is a true bird with flight feathers, not a transitional form at all. In 1994, an article explained that the ''Archaeopteryx'' was essentially a flying bird, with a large [[cerebellum]] and [[visual cortex]]. The fact that it had teeth is irrelevant to its alleged transitional status -- a number of extinct birds had teeth, while many reptiles do not (the South American [[hoatzin]], ''Opisthocomus hoazin'', also shares with ''Archaeopteryx'' clawed digits in its wings, albeit as juveniles).
== Evidence for evolution? ==
== Evidence for evolution? ==
While most evolutionary scientists agree that the flight feathers of ''Archaeopteryx'' were essentially modern, several papers since have argued against Feduccia's claims about the anatomy of ''Archaeopteryx''<ref>"The tenth skeletal specimen of Archaeopteryx," ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,'' 149:97-116, 2007.</ref> Specimens such as the Thermoplis Specimen <ref>Wyoming Dinosaur Center.</ref> are thought to clearly show that the arms, wishbone, tail, feet, hips, and palate of ''Archaeopteryx'' were more like meat-eating theropod dinosaurs than modern birds.
While most evolutionary scientists agree that the flight feathers of ''Archaeopteryx'' were essentially modern, several papers since have argued against Feduccia's claims about the anatomy of ''Archaeopteryx''<ref>"The tenth skeletal specimen of Archaeopteryx," ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,'' 149:97-116, 2007.</ref> Specimens such as the Thermoplis Specimen <ref>Wyoming Dinosaur Center.</ref> are thought to clearly show that the arms, wishbone, tail, feet, hips, and palate of ''Archaeopteryx'' were more like meat-eating theropod dinosaurs than modern birds.
== Specimens ==
== Specimens ==