This hadrosaur, an ornithopod, is one of the best-preserved dinosaurs ever despite being the most “primitive” of the ornithischian suborders.2 Further careful extraction might reveal its preserved stomach contents.
The scientific community continues to be shocked at finding soft tissue in sedimentary rock allegedly many millions of years old.3,4
On the heels of such amazing discoveries, scientists also unearthed mummified dinosaurs such as the armored Nodosaurus that was found in northern Alberta, Canada, in 2011. Jason Daley of Smithsonian magazine stated,
The fossil remains are incredibly lifelike, resembling a sleeping dragon. According to National Geographic, which sponsored the five-year, 7,000-hour preparation of the fossil, it’s likely that the 3,000-pound,18-foot-long creature died in or near a river. Then its bloated carcass floated out to sea before sinking back-first into the muck where fossilization began.5
In 2009, a mummified hadrosaur nicknamed “Dakota” was discovered in the Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota. This shocked evolutionists because the specimen was extremely well preserved after supposedly 66 million years had passed.6
As usual, when it comes to explaining fossils, mainstream researchers admitted that the demise of these hadrosaurs was due to a sudden catastrophic event that, in this case, preserved it perfectly. Brian Pickles, a paleontologist and ecology professor at the University of Reading, told USA Today,
It's hard to imagine. This animal died 76 million years ago. It’s been perfectly preserved since then and it just happened to be just starting to erode out of this cliff when we were walking by....This animal probably either died and then immediately got covered over by sand and silt in the river...or it was killed because a river bank fell onto it.1
One is reminded that a flood of epic proportions—not a river or its bank—might swiftly overwhelm the creature with silt and sand, causing exceptional preservation.7 Indeed, through the decades, there have been significant advances in sedimentation theory, causing geologists to recognize that most rock units are the result of widespread high-intensity processes. Geologic work traditionally attributed to gradual and slow actions have now been seen to be accomplished in just minutes.8 It all points to the Flood recorded in Genesis.
The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.9
References
1. Mayorquin, O. 'Dinosaur mummy': Researchers believe they found one of the best preserved dinosaurs ever. USA Today. Posted on usatoday.com September 14, 2022, accessed September 15, 2022.
2. Sherwin, F. "Fast Evolution" in the Duck-Billed Hadrosaur. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org May 21, 2019, accessed September 14, 2022.
3. Thomas, B. 2009. Dinosaur Soft Tissue Issue is Here to Stay. Acts & Facts. 38 (9): 18.
4. Thomas, B. and S. Taylor. 2019. Proteomes of the past: the pursuit of proteins in paleontology. Expert Review of Proteomics. 16 (11-12): 881-895.
5. Daley, J. Spectacularly Detailed Armored Dinosaur “Mummy” Makes Its Debut. Smithsonian. Posted on smithsonianmag.org May 15, 2017, accessed September 15, 2022.
6. Thomas, B. Mummified Dinosaur Skin Looks Young. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org July 30, 2009, accessed September 15, 2022.
7. Trinajstic, K. et al. 2022. Exceptional preservation of organs in Devonian placoderms from the Gogo lagerstätte. Science. 377 (6612): 1311-1314.
8. Morris, J. 2011. The Channeled Scablands. Acts & Facts. 40 (10: 15..
9. Genesis 7:20-21.
Stage image: Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canada
*Dr. Sherwin is Science News Writer at the Institute for Creation Research. He earned an M.A. in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Pensacola Christian College.
