Archaeopteryx
This bird is given as evidence of a supposed link between dinosaurs and birds. There have been major issues about this supposed link even among evolutionary believing biologists, yet we still find it in our textbooks. This “feathered dinosaur” as many biology books call it is considered to be a halfway transition between dinosaurs and birds due to features like it appearing to possibly have claws on its wings. This unique and rarer trait should not be used to claim T-rex and chickens are cousins as a middle school biology textbook claimed in an article titled, “Was T-rex a Big Chicken?” T-Rex was not. Bats, a mammal, have far more developed claws than the possible slashing apparatus that this bird had, yet we do not claim it is a missing link between mammals and birds. This claim for this bird being a dinosaur is based on a desire for it to be so, and so we see observations conformed and presented as such. We should realize that this creature was once simply a bird. The Institute for Creation Research stated the following in their response to some research done on Archaeopteryx”
“In fact, even the report's title assumes evolution, referring to Archaeopteryx as "primitive." But none of its features are primitive, just unique. However, in order to portray Archaeopteryx as the progenitor of other birds, it must be labeled "primitive," whether or not its anatomy actually reveals primitive features. Since the fossil has the same core features as modern birds, it makes sense to say that Archaeopteryx was a bird. And based on the quality of its preservation as a fossil, this particular creature appears to have died in a watery catastrophe, like Noah's Flood from just thousands of years ago.5”
The book “Evolution vs Science” summarizes the scientific observations on this bird noting that the feathers are the same as ‘modern’ birds, the bones are like that of a bird, this fossil was found after birds supposedly came into existence (so it isn’t even in the right place geologically), this fossil nor any other has provided a scale to feather transition, and lastly these wings are strong and well developed for flight like a regular bird.6 In short there is no dino in this bird. Further, this book elaborates on suspected evidence that this particular fossil is a hoax due to the nature of its discovery.
One last issue with this transitional species is that it creates a dilemma when we look at many animals today. When we see a bat, should we claim it is proof that mammals are evolving into birds? The platypus may further back this claim. Likewise, should we claim the scales of an armadillo are proof that it is becoming a reptile? Is a pangolin a mammal becoming a fish? Archeopteryx is at best a picked “evidence” that ignores all the other animals that contradict evolutionary belief. This bird fossil, which is possibly a hoax, is not used to teach fact, but propagate religious evolutionism. This ‘evidence’ has been picked because it supports an idea that replaces God with man, while these other oddities and overlaps between types of animals are ignored. If they are mentioned, textbooks outline it as amazing evidence of concurrent evolution which we will look at further.
For further reading: